DeCure's autonomous Cancer AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for cutaneous adenocystic carcinoma — screening already-approved drugs against its 2-gene Open Targets disease module to publish open-access research. Research is fast; the path to publication is funded in milestone stages.
Disease moduleCutaneous adenocystic carcinoma maps to a 2-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 cutaneous adenocystic carcinoma 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
nuclear factor I B (NFIB) — NFIB 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 apo structuredrag to rotate · scroll to zoom
RCSB Protein Data Bank · entry 9W7S · 2.3 Å · ligand none (apo structure). Experimental structure, not a prediction.
What the evidence adds up to
Cutaneous adenosquamous carcinoma is a rare malignant neoplasm with mixed glandular and squamous differentiation. In a 2009 series of 27 patients, 19 were men and the mean age was 74 years; 5 patients were immunosuppressed. Most tumours arose on the face and scalp (19 of 27, 70%) or upper extremity (4 of 27, 15%). All primary lesions invaded the reticular dermis, with thickness ranging from 1.2 to 9.2 mm. Perineural invasion occurred in 4 of 27 primary cases (15%). Among 6 patients treated with Mohs micrographic surgery, 3 had subsequent locoregional recurrences, but no distant metastasis was observed after a mean follow-up of 2.3 years. The authors concluded that adenosquamous carcinoma is best considered a locally aggressive high-risk subtype of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, and that locoregional recurrence is common even after Mohs surgery.
A 1989 case report described a histologically low-grade primary cutaneous adenosquamous carcinoma with dermal invasion limited to the superficial dermis. The authors contrasted this with the deeply infiltrating pattern of previously reported cases and predicted less aggressive biologic behaviour. Immunohistochemical studies in that case supported an eccrine origin. No data on recurrence or survival were provided for this low-grade variant.
A 2018 case report described a 68-year-old man with widespread cutaneous and subcutaneous metastases of adenocarcinoma as the first and dominant manifestation of malignancy. The primary site was not identified despite clinical workup. The metastases were immunoreactive for cytokeratin 7 and carcinoembryonic antigen and negative for cytokeratin 20, CDX-2, TTF-1 and prostatic specific antigen. The pathologist suggested a stomach or biliopancreatic primary, but this was not confirmed. The report did not involve adenosquamous carcinoma or cutaneous adenocystic carcinoma.
No abstract in this set reports any drug treatment, response rate, or survival data for cutaneous adenocystic carcinoma. What is missing is any prospective trial, any drug tested in this specific histology, and any systematic attempt to stratify patients by tumour thickness, perineural invasion, or immunosuppression status. Without such data, no evidence exists to support any pharmacological intervention.
Evidence
Retrieved by DeepSearch across 234,678,978 indexed works and resolved on OpenAlex — ranked by citations, including the results that did not work.
Archives of Dermatology · 2009 · 42 citations · open access
Adenosquamous Carcinoma of the Skin
AbstractBACKGROUND: Adenosquamous carcinoma is an uncommon cutaneous malignant neoplasm with mixed glandular and squamous differentiation and a propensity for aggressive clinical behavior. OBSERVATIONS: Of 27 patients diagnosed as having adenosquamous carcinoma, 19 were men and 5 were immunosuppressed. The mean age was 74 years. The majority of tumors were located on the face and scalp (19 of 27 [70%]) or upper extremity (4 of 27 [15%]). Squamous and glandular differentiation was characteristic. Thickness of the primary lesion ranged from 1.2 to 9.2 mm, with all tumors extensively invading the reticular dermis. Perineural invasion was seen in 4 of 27 primary cases (15%). Although 3 of 6 patients treated with Mohs micrographic surgery had subsequent locoregional recurrences, there was no evidence of distant metastasis after a mean of 2.3 years of patient follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Adenosquamous carcinoma is best considered as a locally aggressive high-risk subtype of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma. Tumor thickness and perineural invasion are high-risk histopathological attributes, and immunosuppression is an important clinical risk factor. Although Mohs micrographic surgery may be the best initial treatment, locoregional recurrence is common.
American Journal of Dermatopathology · 1989 · 32 citations
Low-Grade Primary Cutaneous Adenosquamous (Mucoepidermoid) Carcinoma Report of a Case and Review of the Literature
AbstractA case of histologically low-grade primary cutaneous adenosquamous carcinoma is reported. Dermal invasion was limited to the superficial dermis. This pattern contrasts sharply with the deeply infiltrating pattern of previously reported examples of cutaneous adenosquamous carcinoma. Less aggressive biologic behavior is expected from this histologically low-grade variant when compared to the high potential for recurrence and metastasis of previously reported cutaneous adenosquamous carcinoma. Immunohistochemical studies support an eccrine origin for this tumor.
Primary cutaneous apocrine carcinoma of the scalp: Two case reports and literature review.
AbstractRATIONALE: Apocrine carcinoma is a rare malignant sweat gland tumor that has been reported in approximately 200 cases. This tumor usually occurs in the axilla, but in rare cases, it can also develop in the scalp. In the present work, we report 2 cases of cutaneous apocrine carcinoma of the scalp. PATIENT CONCERNS: Two men visited our outpatient clinic with recurrence of tumor after undergoing surgery for scalp tumor at another hospital. DIAGNOSES: Brain magnetic resonance imaging of a 56-year old man showed the presence of a 5.0 × 4.5 × 4.4 cm scalp mass in the right parietal region, invading the skull and dura mater and a 2.2 × 2.0 × 0.7 cm bony mass without any skin lesions right next to the scalp mass. Neck magnetic resonance imaging of a 76-year-old man revealed the presence of a well-defined oval mass in the subcutaneous layer of the left occipital scalp and 2 enlarged lymph nodes in the left neck. Definite diagnoses were made postoperatively. The patients were diagnosed with cutaneous apocrine carcinoma. The diagnosis was confirmed through histopathological and immunohistochemical staining tests. INTERVENTIONS: The tumors were removed with a wide safety margin and reconstructive surgery was performed. OUTCOMES: Additional radiotherapy or chemotherapy was performed. Follow-up more than 6 months revealed no recurrence or metastasis. LESSONS: If accurate diagnosis and treatment had taken place at the initial stages of the primary cutaneous apocrine carcinoma, it would have been possible to prevent recurrence and intracranial invasion. As recurrent primary cutaneous apocrine carcinoma can become aggressive and difficult to treat, even a small mass on the scalp must be evaluated carefully and treated properly.
Klinicka onkologie · 2018 · 0 citations · open access
Cutaneous and Subcutaneous Metastases of Adenocarcinoma as a Dominant Clinical Manifestation of Malignancy of Unknown Origin – a Case Report
AbstractBACKGROUND: Cutaneous metastases occur in 0.6-10.4% of all patients with underlying malignancy. Among them, the site of origin remains unknown in 4.4-14.5% of all cases. CASE: The authors describe a 68-year-old man with widespread skin and soft tissue metastases appearing as the first and dominant clinical manifestation of oncologic disease. Physical examination and CT scans revealed multiple cutaneous and subcutaneous tumor nodules arising in the neck, chest, abdomen, lumbar region and right forearm, as well as in the gluteal and iliacus muscles and in the proximal part of the left thigh. Light microscopy confirmed a metastasis of adenocarcinoma exhibiting a tubuloglandular pattern and a slight mucin production. It was immunoreactive for cytokeratin 7 and carcinoembryonic antigen and negative for cytokeratin 20, CDX-2, TTF-1 and prostatic specific antigen. Based upon the histomorphology and immunophenotype, the pathologist suggested a primary tumor in the stomach or biliopancreatic tract. However, further clinical workup did not clearly identify a primary lesion. CONCLUSION: Determining the origin of cutaneous metastases might be a challenging issue for both clinicians and pathologists. The case we describe is uncommon because widespread skin and subcutaneous metastases appeared as the first and dominant clinical sign of adenocarcinoma, the origin of which has not been established. This unusual tumor behavior may suggest that a spreading and colonization of metastatic cancer cells in the skin and soft tissue may be a specific biologic process.Key words: skin metastases - malignancy of unknown origin - adenocarcinoma.
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.
