DeCure's autonomous Cancer AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for colon medullary carcinoma — screening already-approved drugs against its 48-gene Open Targets disease module to publish open-access research. Research is fast; the path to publication is funded in milestone stages.
Disease moduleColon medullary carcinoma maps to a 48-gene Open Targets module — the target space DeCure's AI scientist screens approved drugs against.
DeCure.ai methodSignature reversal (LINCS) plus network proximity (STRING) rank already-approved drugs likely to perturb this module — the same engine that produces DeCure.ai's repurposing hypotheses.
Repurposing thesisScreening approved medicines against this disease module, then publishing the evidence for the strongest candidate. Known pharmacology and human exposure data make the first question sharper — they do not establish safety or efficacy in a new indication.
Research record
01
ResearchComing soon
Candidate research + dossier — target rationale, drug-repurposing thesis and evidence pack.proof: Published dossier + on-chain hash
02
ValidationComing soon
In-vitro biological validation at a contract research org (CRO).proof: CRO contract + in-vitro report
03
Peer review & paperComing soon
Peer-reviewed paper published open-access (preprint + journal).proof: DOI + open-access link + on-chain hash
Current lead
approvedVandetanibApproved drug
Structures already discussed alongside colon medullary carcinoma in the retrieved literature, rendered from public PubChem SMILES. Which drugs appear here reflects the evidence found, not a ranked prediction.
Molecular view
Crystal structure of phosphorylated RET tyrosine kinase domain — Vandetanib has a real, experimentally solved structure in complex with this target (PDB 2IVU, 2.5 Å). This is the drug's own deposited structure, not a prediction, and confirms it is a structurally characterised molecule rather than an untested guess.
Loading structure…
helix sheet zd6drag to rotate · scroll to zoom
RCSB Protein Data Bank · entry 2IVU · 2.5 Å · ligand Vandetanib (ZD6). Experimental structure, not a prediction.
What the evidence adds up to
A 72-year-old man with obstructing descending colon adenocarcinoma received a self-expandable metal stent followed by two cycles of modified FOLFOX6 chemotherapy. CT scanning 14 days after stent insertion showed significant intestinal swelling; after two chemotherapy cycles the swelling improved. He underwent left hemi-colectomy without stoma and was disease-free six months after surgery. This is a single case report with no control group and short follow-up.
Medullary colon carcinoma is a rare subtype with high-grade histology but generally better prognosis than usual colonic adenocarcinoma. One case report describes a patient whose primary medullary tumour remained viable while all regional lymph node metastases were completely necrotic in the resection specimen. The authors discuss possible immune-mediated mechanisms but provide no survival data or patient outcome beyond the surgical pathology description.
A 79-year-old woman with a mixed medullary–mucinous carcinoma of the transverse colon was found to have loss of DNA mismatch repair proteins by immunohistochemistry. Next-generation sequencing identified BRAF V600E and AKT1 p.E17K mutations in both components, and a novel STK11 p.G270W mutation restricted to the medullary component. This is a single molecular characterisation; no treatment or follow-up is reported.
No abstract in this set reports a drug specifically tested against medullary colon carcinoma. The chemotherapy used in the obstructing adenocarcinoma case was mFOLFOX6, not targeted to medullary histology. What is missing: prospective trials enrolling medullary colon carcinoma as a distinct entity, validated biomarkers to stratify patients by immune or mutational profile, and funding for such rare-tumour studies.
Evidence
Retrieved by DeepSearch across 234,678,978 indexed works and resolved on OpenAlex — ranked by citations, including the results that did not work.
OncoTargets and Therapy · 2016 · 13 citations · open access
A systematic review and meta-analysis of the risk of diarrhea associated with vandetanib treatment in carcinoma patients
AbstractBACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Vandetanib is a promising anticancer targeted agent for treating advanced carcinomas, such as non-small-cell lung cancer, small-cell lung cancer, breast cancer, malignant glioma, hepatocellular cancer, and unresectable, locally advanced, or metastatic medullary thyroid cancer. However, diarrhea is a frequently reported adverse event. The incidence of vandetanib-associated diarrhea varies extensively in different study populations and has not been carefully estimated. This systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials aims to figure out the overall risks of all-grade and high-grade diarrhea during vandetanib treatment and get a better understanding of its prediction and management. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A comprehensive search was performed in EMBASE, PubMed, and Cochrane Library for clinical trials studying vandetanib and diarrhea prior to April 2015. Eligible articles were selected according to the inclusion criteria. Data were extracted to calculate the summary incidence of all-grade and high-grade diarrhea caused by vandetanib treatment. RESULTS: Thirteen clinical trials that involved 3,264 patients were included in this meta-analysis. The overall incidences of all-grade and high-grade diarrhea caused by vandetanib treatment were 52.1% (95% confidence interval [CI], 48.3%-55.8%) and 5.6% (95% CI, 4.4%-76.7%), respectively. The risk ratios of the all-grade and high-grade diarrhea for vandetanib arm versus control arm were 1.932 (95% CI, 1.746-2.138; P<0.001) and 3.190 (95% CI, 2.061-4.938; P<0.001), respectively. Studies with small-cell lung cancer demonstrated the highest incidence of all-grade diarrhea (78.85%) and high-grade diarrhea (17.31%), whereas the lowest incidences of all-grade (42.11%) and high-grade (2.67%) diarrhea are seen in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and non-small-cell lung cancer, respectively. CONCLUSION: Our findings demonstrate that the administration of vandetanib leads to a significantly increased risk of diarrhea, which varies in different carcinoma patients. Early recognition and timely management may be key factors to avoid dose reduction, drug interruption, and drug discontinuation, which is significant to maximize the treatment benefits.
World Journal of Clinical Cases · 2019 · 10 citations · open access
Successful treatment of obstructing colonic cancer by combining self-expandable stent and neoadjuvant chemotherapy: A case report
AbstractBACKGROUND: Surgery 5-10 d after stent insertion was recommended by the European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy for obstructing colonic cancer. For some obstructive patients, this may be not a good choice. Here, we report the successful treatment of obstructing colonic cancer by combining self-expandable stent and neoadjuvant chemotherapy. CASE SUMMARY: The patient was a 72-year-old man who was admitted with a chief complaint of abdominal pain for more than 1 mo. Computed tomography (CT) scanning revealed that there was a mass in the descending colon, which led to intestinal obstruction. On admission, a series of therapeutic measures, such as fasting and water deprivation, gastrointestinal decompression, total parenteral nutrition, and octreotide acetate, were taken to improve the obstructive symptoms. At the same time, a self-expandable metal stent was successfully placed across the stenosis, and a biopsy was obtained and diagnosed as adenocarcinoma. CT scanning 14 d after insertion of the stent revealed that the intestine was swollen significantly. Systemic chemotherapy with modified FOLFOX6 (mFOLFOX6) was administered. After two courses of mFOLFOX6, CT scanning showed clearly that swelling of the intestine was improved. Subsequently, the patient underwent left hemi-colectomy without stoma placement. The postoperative course was uneventful, and he has been disease-free for 6 mo after surgery. CONCLUSION: This modified treatment strategy may provide an alternative therapy for patients with obstructing colonic cancers.
Diagnostic Pathology · 2014 · 8 citations · open access
Medullary colon cancer presenting with total necrosis of all regional lymph node metastases: morphologic description of a presumed immune-mediated event
AbstractMedullary carcinoma is a rare type of colon cancer with characteristic clinical and molecular features. Notably, despite its high-grade histology, the prognosis is generally better than for colonic adenocarcinoma of the usual type. We present herein a singular case of medullary colon cancer in which all of numerous lymph node metastases in the surgical resection specimen were completely necrotic in the face of a wholly viable primary tumor. Possible mechanisms are discussed with emphasis on immune-mediated factors.Virtual Slides: The virtual slide(s) for this article can be found here: http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/vs/13000_2014_204.
Cancer Genomics & Proteomics · 2019 · 1 citations · open access
STK11 p.G270W: A Novel Mutation Detected in a Case of MSI High Mixed Medullary–Mucinous Carcinoma of the Transverse Colon
AbstractBACKGROUND/AIM: To report a case of mixed medullary/mucinous adenocarcinoma with unusual mutational gene profile. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A 79-year-old female was diagnosed with a colorectal carcinoma of the transverse colon. The diagnostic work-up of this case included thorough clinicopathological evaluation, immunohistochemistry and next generation Sequencing. RESULTS: The clinicopathological evaluation showed a tumor with morphological features of both medullary and mucinous colorectal carcinoma. Immunohistochemistry revealed the loss of DNA mismatch repair proteins. NGS showed that the medullary component of this tumor had a novel STK11 p.G270W mutation, which was not present in the mucinous component. Both the medullary and mucinous components also had BRAF V600E and AKT1 (pE17K) mutations. CONCLUSION: We report a novel mutation STK11 (p.G270W), in medullary carcinoma of the colon with an associated mucinous component.
Zentralblatt für Chirurgie - Zeitschrift für Allgemeine Viszeral- Thorax- und Gefäßchirurgie · 2006 · 0 citations
Multimodale Therapie beim Kolonkarzinom?
AbstractSurgical therapy is still the basis of therapy of patients with colon carcinoma. Multimodal therapeutical concepts are presently applied as a therapeutical standard in the adjuvant therapy and increasingly in the systemic therapy of patients with primarily inoperable metastases of the liver to reach a secondary operability. Interdisciplinary multimodal therapeutical concepts are even accepted within the therapy of metastasized colon carcinomas. There are still unanswered questions regarding sequences of palliative systemic therapies and their combinations with local ablative methods.
Disease module: DeepOracle (Open Targets). Structures: RDKit from PubChem SMILES. Literature: retrieved by DeepSearch across 234,678,978 indexed works (targeted per-candidate search), resolved on OpenAlex.
DeCure is a research and publication project, not medical advice and not a treatment. "DeCure for X" describes a research goal, not a claim that a cure exists. Backing a cure is a contribution to fund the research — it is not an investment, and confers no yield, royalty, equity or IP ownership. Papers are published open-access by the DeCure.ai DAO.
