DeCure's autonomous Rare AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for ectomesenchymoma — screening already-approved drugs against its 7-gene Open Targets disease module to publish open-access research. Research is fast; the path to publication is funded in milestone stages.
Disease moduleEctomesenchymoma maps to a 7-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 ectomesenchymoma 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
HRas proto-oncogene, GTPase (HRAS) — HRAS 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 8ELT · 1.66 Å · ligand PHOSPHOAMINOPHOSPHONIC ACID-GUANYLATE ESTER (GNP). Experimental structure, not a prediction.
What the evidence adds up to
Malignant ectomesenchymoma is a rare tumour of early childhood, with most cases developing before age 5. A 2025 single-centre retrospective study of 11 children (median age 3 years, range 1.5–11.0) found the most common primary sites were head and neck (45.6%), followed by limbs (27.2%) and pelvis/abdomen (27.2%). Nine children had localised disease at diagnosis; two had metastases. Over a median follow-up of 5.8 years, the 5-year overall survival was 79%, but event-free survival was only 14%. Among the nine children who had surgery, four received both radiotherapy and chemotherapy, while five received chemotherapy alone. The relapse rate was lower in the combined radiotherapy–chemotherapy group (2/6) than in the chemotherapy-alone group (5/5), a difference reported as statistically significant (P = 0.046). Two children received only conservative treatment. Children with FOXO1-positive tumours had lower survival (0/2) than those with FOXO1-negative tumours (7/8).
Two earlier case reports describe malignant ectomesenchymoma presenting as an inguinal bulge initially mistaken for inguinal hernia, including one infant reported as the youngest inguinal-region case since 1946. A 1992 abstract on primary orbital ectomesenchymoma is not available; the text provided instead concerns Omicron SARS-CoV-2 spike protein fusogenicity and waning vaccine neutralisation, and contains no information about ectomesenchymoma.
What remains missing is prospective, multi-centre data with standardised treatment protocols. The 2025 study is retrospective, from a single centre, with only 11 patients, and no randomised assignment to radiotherapy. The role of FOXO1 status as a prognostic marker needs validation in a larger cohort. No targeted therapies or repurposed drugs are mentioned in any of the available abstracts.
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 Ophthalmology · 1992 · 26 citations · open access
Primary malignant ectomesenchymoma of the orbit.
Abstract<h3>Abstract</h3> The rapid spread and dominance of the Omicron SARS-CoV-2 over its Delta variant has posed severe global challenges. While extensive research on the role of the Receptor Binding Domain on viral infectivity and vaccine sensitivity has been documented, the role of the spike <sub>681</sub>PRRAR/SV<sub>687</sub> polybasic motif is less clear. Here we monitored infectivity and vaccine sensitivity of Omicron SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus against sera samples that were drawn four months post administration of the third dose of BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine. Our findings show that relative to Wuhan-Hu and Delta SARS-CoV-2, Omicron displayed enhanced infectivity and a sharp decline in its sensitivity to vaccine-induced neutralizing antibodies. Furthermore, while the spike proteins form Wuhan-Hu (P681), Omicron (H681) and BA.2 (H681) pseudoviruses modestly promoted cell fusion and syncytia formation, Delta spike (P681R) displayed enhanced fusogenic activity and syncytia formation capability. Live-viruses plaque formation assays confirmed these findings and demonstrated that relatively to the Wuhan-Hu and Omicron SARS-CoV-2, Delta formed more plaques that were smaller in size. Introducing a single P681R point mutation within the Wuhan-Hu spike, or H681R within Omicron spike, restored fusion potential to similar levels observed for Delta spike. Conversely, a R681P point mutation within Delta spike efficiency abolished fusion potential. We conclude that over time, the efficiency of the third dose of the Pfizer vaccine against SARS CoV-2 is waned, and cannot neutralize Omicron. We further verify that the P681 position of the viral spike dictates fusogenicity and syncytia formation.
Infant malignant ectomesenchymoma masquerading as inguinal hernia in two patients
AbstractMalignant ectomesenchymoma (MEM) is named after ectomesenchyme, which can develop into both neuroectodermal and mesenchymal tissues.1,2 The etiology of the condition is currently unknown. Most cases develop before the age of 5 years.1–3 Herein, we present two cases of MEM in the inguinal region, with one being the youngest case involving the inguinal region as the primary site reported since 1946.1 As the presenting complaint was a bulge in the inguinal area, both cases were initially suspected to be inguinal hernia.
Japanese Journal of Clinical Oncology · 2025 · 0 citations
A single-center retrospective study of malignant ectomesenchymoma in children
AbstractOBJECTIVES: This study aimed to summarize the clinical and pathological characteristics of Malignant Ectomesenchymoma (MEM) and provide an overview of the available treatment options. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted on data from 11 children diagnosed with MEM at Beijing Children's Hospital between 2012 and 2023. RESULTS: The study included nine male and two female patients, with a median age of 3 years (range, 1.5-11.0 years). The most commonly affected sites were the head and neck (45.6%), followed by the limbs (27.2%) and the pelvis/abdomen (27.2%). Nine children presented with localized MEM, while two had metastatic disease at the time of diagnosis. Among the nine children who underwent surgery, four received a combination of radiotherapy and chemotherapy, while five were treated with chemotherapy alone. Two children received only conservative treatment. The median follow-up period was 5.8 years (range, 0.7-12.3 years). Children who received both radiotherapy and chemotherapy had a significantly lower relapse rate compared to those treated with chemotherapy alone (2/6 vs. 5/5, P = 0.046). Additionally, children with FOXO1(+) tumors had lower survival rates than those with FOXO1(-) tumors (0/2 vs. 7/8). The 5-year overall survival rate was 79%, while the event-free survival rate was 14%. CONCLUSIONS: Combining chemotherapy with local treatments such as surgery and radiotherapy can improve the prognosis for children with MEM. Radiotherapy may be beneficial in reducing the incidence of adverse effects in patients with MEM.
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.
