DeCure's autonomous Cancer AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for conjunctival intraepithelial neoplasm — screening already-approved drugs against its 46-gene Open Targets disease module to publish open-access research. Research is fast; the path to publication is funded in milestone stages.
Disease moduleConjunctival intraepithelial neoplasm maps to a 46-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
No approved-drug candidate for conjunctival intraepithelial neoplasm is corroborated in the literature DeepSearch retrieved. Some conditions are managed with non-pharmacological care — a device, surgery or physical therapy — rather than a medicine; that may be the case here, or the literature we found may simply be too sparse yet to support a drug-repurposing angle.
Molecular view
axin 1 (AXIN1) — AXIN1 is one of the genes genetically linked to this disease in Open Targets — shown as context, not as a drug target we're pursuing: no approved-drug candidate for this disease is yet corroborated in the literature we found.
Loading structure…
helix sheet dttdrag to rotate · scroll to zoom
RCSB Protein Data Bank · entry 1DK8 · 1.57 Å · ligand 2,3-DIHYDROXY-1,4-DITHIOBUTANE (DTT). Experimental structure, not a prediction.
What the evidence adds up to
Conjunctival squamous intraepithelial neoplasia is the in situ precursor of squamous cell carcinoma, and the severity of dysplasia is considered a measure of risk for progression to invasive carcinoma. A 2023 study using immunohistochemical markers found that during progression of intraepithelial neoplasia the content of squamous epithelium and the squamous-gland index increase significantly, and that conjunctival intraepithelial lesions can be divided into low-grade and high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia based on proliferative and apoptotic characteristics. The cytoarchitectural changes in conjunctival squamous intraepithelial neoplasia overlap with those of reactive atypia, squamous epithelial papilloma and in situ sebaceous carcinoma, while pseudoepitheliomatous hyperplasia and benign hereditary dyskeratosis carry no risk of neoplastic transformation.
A 2017 review of therapeutic options for conjunctival neoplasms notes that treatment modalities include observation, simple excision, topical chemotherapy, and surgery combined with adjuvant therapies such as cryotherapy, topical and systemic chemotherapy, immune-modulating agents, anti-viral therapy, and radiotherapy. The review states that the efficacy of different adjuvant therapies is debated, but that there is no doubt adjuvant therapy reduces the risk of recurrence. The authors recommend that ocular oncologists use adjuvant therapy together with surgery for conjunctival melanoma, and that treatment of malignant conjunctival tumors should be centralised.
A 1992 paper notes that most conjunctival and epibulbar tumours are benign but can cause problems with tear function or cosmetic appearance, and that the most commonly encountered malignancy, squamous cell carcinoma, arises from conjunctival intraepithelial neoplasia. No abstract reports a controlled trial of any specific drug for conjunctival intraepithelial neoplasia, and no abstract gives concrete numbers for survival, response rates, or sample sizes for any treatment of this condition. What is still missing are large multicentre randomised trials, standardised patient stratification by grade of intraepithelial neoplasia, and dedicated funding to compare the long-term outcomes of the various adjuvant therapies against surgery alone.
Evidence
Retrieved by DeepSearch across 234,678,978 indexed works and resolved on OpenAlex — ranked by citations, including the results that did not work.
Journal of Clinical Pathology · 2021 · 8 citations
Conjunctival squamous intraepithelial neoplasia and its differential diagnosis
AbstractConjunctival squamous intraepithelial neoplasia (CSIN) represents the in situ precursor of squamous cell carcinoma. The graded severity of intraepithelial dysplasia is considered a measure of risk for progression to invasive carcinoma. The range of cytoarchitectural changes in CSIN overlaps those of reactive atypia, squamous epithelial papilloma and in situ sebaceous carcinoma. Pseudoepitheliomatous hyperplasia and benign hereditary dyskeratosis of the conjunctiva are conditions without risk of neoplastic transform that are potentially mistaken for CSIN.
Expert Review of Ophthalmology · 2017 · 5 citations
Therapeutic options for conjunctival neoplasia
AbstractIntroduction: Conjunctival neoplasms span from benign lesions to life-threatening malignancies. A wide range of treatment modalities has been developed, spanning from observation, simple excision and topical chemotherapy to advanced surgical techniques combined with adjuvant therapies including cryotherapy, topical and systemic chemotherapy, immune-modulating agents, anti-viral therapy, and radiotherapy.Areas covered: This review provides an overview of treatment modalities employed in conjunctival neoplasms as well as management guidelines for selected groups of conjunctival tumors. A literature search was performed using the keywords ‘Conjunctival neoplasms’ [MeSH], ‘Conjunctival AND neoplasia’, ‘Conjunctiva AND neoplasia’, ‘Conjunctival tumors’ in combination with ‘Chemotherapy’, ‘Topical chemotherapy’, ‘Mitomycin C’, ‘5-fluorouracil’, ‘Interferon alpha 2b’, ‘anti-VEGF’, ‘Brachytherapy’, ‘Radiation’, ‘Radiotherapy’, ‘Cryotherapy’, ‘Surgery’, ‘Systemic chemotherapy’, and ‘Lymphoma’.Expert commentary: The efficacy of the different adjuvant therapies is debated. However, there is no doubt that adjuvant therapy reduces the risk of recurrence. Therefore, we recommend that ocular oncologists use an adjuvant therapy together with surgery for conjunctival melanoma. The treatment of malignant conjunctival tumors should be centralized in each country and placed in a few hands. This, combined with large multicenter studies, will provide valuable new information, benefit our patients, and improve the prognosis in the future.
Indian Journal of Pathology and Oncology · 2023 · 1 citations · open access
Molecular markers of the progression of conjunctival neoplastic epithelial lesions and its correlation with P16 and HPV expression
AbstractEpithelial lesions of the conjunctiva include both benign and transitional malignant and malignant lesions., Therefore, it is important to identify molecular markers of malignant progression of these lesions. The aim of our study was to study molecular markers determining the risk of progression of epithelial neoplastic processes of the conjunctiva. The following markers were detected by standard immunohistochemical methods: Ki67, PHH3, Bcl2, P16, HPV16/18, P53, P63 and CK7. A squamous-epithelial index was also derived by evaluating standard hematoxylin-eosin (H&E)-stained fluorescence and the P63/CK7 ratio. The results of the study showed that during the progression of intraepithelial neoplasia of the conjunctiva, the content of squamous epithelium and, accordingly, the squamous-gland index increases significantly. In addition, according to proliferative and apoptotic characteristics, conjunctival intraepithelial lesions can be divided into two groups, namely, low-grade intraepithelial neoplasia and high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia.
Current Opinion in Ophthalmology · 1992 · 0 citations
Conjunctival and epibulbar tumors
AbstractThe epithelium and substantia propria of the conjunctiva give rise to a variety of neoplasms. Most are benign but can cause problems with tear function or with cosmetic appearance. The most commonly encountered malignancy, squamous cell carcinoma, arises from an in situ disturbance of epithelial growth called conjunctival intraepithelial neoplasia. Less often, malignant melanoma, Kaposi's sarcoma, and lymphoma arise in the conjunctiva. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the conjunctival epithelium can also spawn sebaceous carcinoma.
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.
