DeCure's autonomous Rare AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for Duodenal Villous Adenoma — 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 moduleDuodenal Villous Adenoma 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 duodenal villous adenoma 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
KRas proto-oncogene, GTPase (KRAS) — KRAS 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 gnpdrag to rotate · scroll to zoom
RCSB Protein Data Bank · entry 7VVB · 1.7 Å · ligand PHOSPHOAMINOPHOSPHONIC ACID-GUANYLATE ESTER (GNP). Experimental structure, not a prediction.
What the evidence adds up to
Five patients with duodenal villous adenoma were described in one series. One patient already had malignant degeneration at diagnosis and underwent pancreaticoduodenal resection, remaining well two years later. Among the four patients treated with duodenotomy and local excision, one had a recurrence with malignant degeneration within one year; the other three showed no recurrence at one to four years of follow-up. The authors concluded that duodenal villous adenomas are potentially malignant.
Two further case reports noted that malignant degeneration is more common in the second portion of the duodenum, making excision more difficult. The authors recommended sleeve resection if no malignancy is found, wide mucosal excision for carcinoma in situ, and pancreaticoduodenectomy for invasive cancer. Another report described two cases, one arising from the main papilla and one from the accessory papilla, both managed by local resection. In one case, endoscopic biopsies and intraoperative frozen sections were negative for carcinoma, but histology of the resected specimen revealed a focus of invasive adenocarcinoma.
Across these small case series, the risk of malignant change in duodenal villous adenoma is consistently described as high, and foci of carcinoma can be missed on endoscopic biopsy. No controlled trials, no prospective studies, and no systematic comparisons of treatment approaches exist. The evidence rests entirely on fewer than ten reported patients, with follow-up ranging from one to four years and no standardised outcome measures.
What is missing is any prospective trial, any registry with sufficient numbers to estimate recurrence or malignant transformation rates reliably, and any stratification by adenoma size, histology, or location. No funding body has yet supported a multi-centre study of this rare condition, and no consensus on optimal surveillance after local excision has been reached.
Evidence
Retrieved by DeepSearch across 234,678,978 indexed works and resolved on OpenAlex — ranked by citations, including the results that did not work.
British journal of surgery · 1985 · 26 citations
Villous adenomas in the duodenum
AbstractFive patients with villous adenomas in the duodenum are described. In one patient malignant degeneration had occurred at the time of diagnosis. This patient was treated with a pancreaticoduodenal resection and is doing well 2 years postoperatively. The other four patients all had a duodenotomy and a local excision of the tumour. One patient had a recurrence with malignant degeneration within 1 year. The other three patients are doing well without signs of recurrence 1-4 years postoperatively. It is concluded that duodenal villous adenomas are potentially malignant. The strategy of surgical treatment is discussed.
AbstractTwo cases of villous adenoma of the duodenum are presented. These rare tumors are best diagnosed with upper gastrointestinal radiographs and endoscopic biopsy. Malignant degeneration is more common in the second portion of the duodenum which makes excision more difficult. If no malignancy is found, sleeve resection is preferred. Tumors in the second portion of the duodenum should be treated with wide mucosal excision if carcinoma in situ is found and with pancreaticoduodenectomy if invasive cancer is present.
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Surgery · 1990 · 2 citations
VILLOUS ADENOMAS OF THE DUODENUM AND AN UNUSUAL VARIANT
AbstractWe report two cases of villous adenoma of the duodenum, one arising from the main papilla and the other from the accessory papilla. Both were managed by local resection. In one case endoscopic biopsies and intraoperative frozen sections were negative for carcinoma but histology of the locally resected specimen revealed a focus of invasive adenocarcinoma. Villous adenomas of the duodenum have a high risk of malignant change and foci of carcinoma can be missed on endoscopic biopsy. The literature is reviewed and the clinical, diagnostic, pathological and therapeutic aspects of villous adenomas of the duodenum are discussed.
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.
