DeCure's autonomous Cancer AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for dedifferentiated liposarcoma — 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 moduleDedifferentiated liposarcoma 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
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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 dedifferentiated liposarcoma 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
ROS proto-oncogene 1, receptor tyrosine kinase (ROS1) — ROS1 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…
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RCSB Protein Data Bank · entry 7Z5X · 2.035 Å · ligand (2R)-2-[5-(6-amino-5-{(1R)-1-[2-(1,3-dihydro-2H-1,2,3-triazol-2-yl)-5-fluorophenyl]ethoxy}pyridin-3-yl)-4-methyl-1,3-thiazol-2-yl]propane-1,2-diol (AWJ). Experimental structure, not a prediction.
What the evidence adds up to
A 2011 multi-institution study of 18 patients with primary dedifferentiated liposarcoma of the extremities in northern Japan reported that all tumours were in the thigh, with a mean age of 65 years. Nine patients noticed rapid enlargement of a long-standing tumour. Histologic subtypes of the dedifferentiated area included undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma (12 cases), osteosarcoma (2), rhabdomyosarcoma (2), leiomyosarcoma (1) and malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumour (1). One patient who underwent marginal excision developed local recurrence, but inadequate surgical margin was not associated with risk of local recurrence. Three patients had lung metastasis at initial presentation, and four others developed lung metastases during follow-up. The overall survival rate was 61.1% at five years. Large size of the dedifferentiated area (>8 cm), high MIB-1-labeling index (>30%) and lung metastasis at initial presentation were significantly associated with poor prognosis on univariate analysis. The authors concluded that while local behaviour was less aggressive than retroperitoneal dedifferentiated liposarcoma, these extremity tumours had relatively high metastatic potential.
A 2019 case report described a 24-year-old woman with a 3x2 cm firm painful mass on the medial side of the left thigh. MRI showed a lesion with low signal intensity on T1-weighted and high signal intensity on T2-weighted sequences. Excisional biopsy and histopathological examination with immunohistochemistry (SMA negative, HMB45 negative, S100 focally positive, Desmin negative, Vimentin focally positive, CD68 focally positive, CD34 negative, LCA negative, Inhibin negative) led to a final diagnosis of dedifferentiated liposarcoma. The authors noted that English-language literature data for dedifferentiated liposarcoma of the lower extremities are very restricted and that final diagnosis is made immunohistochemically.
A 2019 supplementary figure described molecular characterisation of a rare dedifferentiated liposarcoma with rhabdomyosarcomatous differentiation in a 24-year-old patient. No further clinical outcome data were provided in that supplemental material.
What remains missing is prospective data on systemic treatments for extremity dedifferentiated liposarcoma, which is too rare for large randomised trials without multi-centre collaboration. The 2011 study's sample of 18 patients is too small for multivariate analysis, and no trial has yet stratified patients by the histologic subtype of the dedifferentiated area or by molecular markers such as MIB-1 index. Funding for tissue banking and genomic profiling of these extremity cases is lacking, and no prospective trial has tested whether the poor prognosis associated with large dedifferentiated area or lung metastasis can be modified by any 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.
Japanese Journal of Clinical Oncology · 2011 · 19 citations · open access
Primary (De Novo) Dedifferentiated Liposarcoma in the Extremities: A Multi-Institution Tohoku Musculoskeletal Tumor Society Study of 18 Cases in Northern Japan
AbstractOBJECTIVE: Dedifferentiated liposarcomas usually occur in the retroperitoneal space and relatively rarely in the extremities. METHODS: We identified 18 patients with primary dedifferentiated liposarcoma in the extremities from the files of Tohoku Musculoskeletal Tumor Society and analyzed demographics, histologic findings, treatments and prognostic factors. The average follow-up period was 58 months. RESULTS: The subjects were 12 men and 6 women with a mean age of 65 years. All tumors were in the thigh. Nine patients noticed a rapid enlargement of the long-standing tumor. Histologic subtypes of the dedifferentiated area were undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma (n = 12), osteosarcoma (n = 2), rhabdomyosarcoma (n = 2), leiomyosarcoma (n = 1) and malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (n = 1). In the patient with rhabdomyosarcoma-like dedifferentiated area, extensive necrosis was observed after the preoperative chemotherapy. One patient who underwent marginal excision developed a local recurrence, but inadequate surgical margin was not associated with a risk of local recurrence. Three patients had lung metastasis at initial presentation, and four other patients developed lung metastases during the follow-up period. The overall survival rate was 61.1% at 5 years. On univariate analyses, large size of the dedifferentiated area (>8 cm), high MIB-1-labeling index (>30%) for the dedifferentiated area and lung metastasis at initial presentation were significantly associated with poor prognosis. CONCLUSIONS: Primary dedifferentiated liposarcoma in the extremities predominantly occurred in the thigh and a rapid enlargement of long-standing tumors was a characteristic symptom. Although the local behavior of these tumors was less aggressive than that of retroperitoneal dedifferentiated liposarcomas, they had a relatively high metastatic potential.
Medical Archives · 2019 · 14 citations · open access
Dedifferentiated Liposarcoma of the Left Thigh: a Rare Case
AbstractINTRODUCTION: Liposarcoma is generally classified into four subtypes: a) well-differentiated liposarcoma/atypical lipomatous tumor, b) dedifferentiated liposarcoma, c) myxoid/round cell liposarcoma, and d) pleomorphic liposarcoma. Dedifferentiated liposarcoma is mostly seen in the region of retroperitoneum. AIM: To present a case of dedifferentiated liposarcoma in a rare site of location: the lower extremity. CASE REPORT: A 24-year-old woman presented with a firm painful mass, 3x2 cm in diameter on the medial side of left thigh. MRI demonstrated a lesion on that location showing low signal intensity on T1-wieghted and high signal intensity on T2A-wieghted sequences. After an excisional biopsy the histopathological examination via Haematoxylin and Eosin firstly revealed the diagnosis of malign undifferentiated tumor. The results of immunohistochemical evaluations were as follows: SMA (-), HMB45 (-), S100 (+, focally), Desmin (-), Vimentin (+, focally), CD68 (+, focally), CD34 (-), LCA (-), and Inhibin (-). The final histopathological diagnosis was dedifferentiated liposarcoma. CONCLUSIONS: In English-language literature data for dedifferentiated liposarcoma of the lower extremities are very restricted. Although imaging with CT and MRI, the final and distinct diagnosis is made immunohistochemically. A clinician should be aware of the presence of a dedifferentiated liposarcoma within a mass on the lower extremities.
Case Reports in Oncological Medicine · 2016 · 1 citations · open access
Primary Diaphragmatic Dedifferentiated Liposarcoma in a Young Female Patient after Delivery
AbstractA 26-year-old woman was admitted with the chief complaint of chest pain. She had delivered her first child 9 months before admission. Computed tomography showed a bulky mass in her left chest, and histopathological analysis revealed it to be dedifferentiated liposarcoma. We initiated doxorubicin chemotherapy, and the tumor mass reduced. After that, we performed vascular embolization along with chemotherapy, but tumor size did not reduce. On the 160th day of illness, the patient died. This is the first report of a primary diaphragmatic dedifferentiated liposarcoma diagnosed after delivery. Establishment of a regimen of chemotherapy for bulky unresectable liposarcoma is necessary.
Olson_et_al_-_Supplementary_Figure_1_-_09162019_FINAL – Supplemental material for Molecular Characterization of a Rare Dedifferentiated Liposarcoma With Rhabdomyosarcomatous Differentiation in a 24 Year Old
AbstractSupplemental material, Olson_et_al_-_Supplementary_Figure_1_-_09162019_FINAL for Molecular Characterization of a Rare Dedifferentiated Liposarcoma With Rhabdomyosarcomatous Differentiation in a 24 Year Old by Nicholas Olson, Rodrigo Gularte-Mérida, Pier Selenica, Arnaud Da Cruz Paula, Barbara Alemar, Britta Weigelt, Joel Lefferts and Konstantinos Linos in International Journal of Surgical Pathology
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.
