DeCure's autonomous Cancer AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for epithelioid sarcoma — screening already-approved drugs against its 16-gene Open Targets disease module to publish open-access research. Research is fast; the path to publication is funded in milestone stages.
Disease moduleEpithelioid sarcoma maps to a 16-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 epithelioid sarcoma 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
transforming growth factor beta receptor 2 (TGFBR2) — TGFBR2 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 6-methoxypyridin-3-yldrag to rotate · scroll to zoom
RCSB Protein Data Bank · entry 5QIN · 1.57 Å · ligand N-{4-[3-(6-methoxypyridin-3-yl)-1H-pyrrolo[3,2-b]pyridin-2-yl]pyridin-2-yl}acetamide (J2V). Experimental structure, not a prediction.
What the evidence adds up to
Two intra-articular epithelioid sarcomas of the knee were identified from archived cases. One patient, a 19-year-old man with long-standing pain and limited joint function, was disease-free after amputation. The other, a 60-year-old woman, developed bilateral subpleural metastases. Both tumours showed complete loss of INI-1 protein by immunohistochemistry, but fluorescence in situ hybridisation found no INI-1 gene deletion. The authors note that only two intra-articular cases had been reported before this 2011 series.
A separate 2001 report describes a 52-year-old woman with swelling of the left middle finger. Fine needle aspiration suggested epithelioid sarcoma, and histopathology with immunohistochemistry confirmed the diagnosis. No treatment outcome or follow-up is given.
A 2022 case describes a 24-year-old woman with non-metastatic proximal-type epithelioid sarcoma of the vulva. She underwent surgical resection, the lesion recurred, and she died three months after a second surgery. The tumour expressed L-type amino acid transporter 1 (LAT1), which transports the boron compound used in boron neutron capture therapy. The authors suggest that LAT1 expression might point toward future treatments such as LAT1 inhibitors or BNCT, but no such therapy was tested in this patient.
What is missing is any prospective trial of a drug or targeted therapy for epithelioid sarcoma. The INI-1 loss is consistently reported but no agent directed at that pathway has been tested in a controlled study. The LAT1 observation comes from a single fatal case. No randomised trial, no patient stratification by molecular subtype, and no dedicated funding for a rare sarcoma that kills within months of recurrence.
Evidence
Retrieved by DeepSearch across 234,678,978 indexed works and resolved on OpenAlex — ranked by citations, including the results that did not work.
The American Journal of Surgical Pathology · 2011 · 27 citations
Intra-articular Epithelioid Sarcoma Showing Mixed Classic and Proximal-type Features
AbstractEpithelioid sarcoma, a rare sarcoma with epithelial differentiation, most often occurs in the distal extremities; however, it may occur in essentially any location. With the recent recognition that the loss of expression of the tumor-suppressor gene INI-1 may be associated with epithelioid sarcoma, it has become clear that epithelioid sarcoma may occur in previously unsuspected locations such as bone. Only 2 cases of intra-articular epithelioid sarcoma have been previously reported. We retrieved 2 intra-articular cases coded as epithelioid sarcoma from our archives. Both expressed cytokeratins (AE1/AE3 and OSCAR), CD34, vimentin, and epithelial membrane antigen, and showed complete loss of expression of INI-1. Fluorescence in situ hybridization was performed on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded sections by using a laboratory-developed dual-color probe containing INI1 (CTD-2511E13 and CTD-2034E7) (22q11.2) (OR) and PANX2 (RPCI3-402G11) (22q13.33) (GR) probes as control. Both cases occurred in a clearly intra-articular location in the knee. Case 1 was that of a 19-year-old man with a long-standing history of pain and limited joint function. This patient was disease free after amputation. Case 2 was that of a 60-year-old woman. Follow-up information available for this patient showed bilateral subpleural metastases. Morphologically, case 1 showed features of proximal-type epithelioid sarcoma, whereas case 2 showed mixed features of classic and proximal-type epithelioid sarcoma. Immunohistochemistry showed complete loss of INI-1 protein in both cases; fluorescence in situ hybridization analyses were negative for INI-1 gene deletion. Herein, we have reported 2 cases of intra-articular epithelioid sarcoma, showing morphologic and immunohistochemical features identical to those of epithelioid sarcoma in conventional locations, including loss of INI-1 expression. Intra-articular epithelioid sarcoma should be distinguished from malignant pigmented villonodular synovitis and from carcinoma metastatic to the synovium. Improved recognition of this rare clinical presentation should allow for better understanding of its unique features.
AbstractBACKGROUND: Epithelioid sarcoma is a rare type of soft tissue sarcoma affecting the extremities, particularly the hands and fingers. Though it is well described histopathologically, publications regarding its cytologic findings are limited. CASE: A 52-year-old woman presented with swelling of the left middle finger. Fine needle aspiration was performed. Smears showed oval to polygonal cells with epithelioid features. A diagnosis of soft tissue sarcoma with a possibility of epithelioid sarcoma was suggested. Histopathologic examination and immunohistochemistry confirmed the diagnosis. CONCLUSION: In the presence of classic cytologic findings, the diagnosis of epithelioid sarcoma can be suggested. Subsequent histologic examination and immunohistochemistry can confirm the diagnosis.
SAGE Open Medical Case Reports · 2022 · 4 citations · open access
Proximal-type epithelioid sarcoma in pubic region expressing L-type amino acid transporter 1: A case report
AbstractProximal-type epithelioid sarcoma is an aggressive malignant soft-tissue neoplasm, a “proximal” variant of epithelioid sarcoma, resistant to multimodal therapy and involved in early tumor-related death. Pertinent treatments are, therefore, continually being explored. A 24-year-old woman with nonmetastatic proximal-type epithelioid sarcoma, originating subcutaneously on the right side of the vulva, underwent surgical resection; the lesion recurred, however, leading to death 3 months after the second surgery. Here described is a case of proximal-type epithelioid sarcoma expressing L-type amino acid transporter 1 (LAT1) that transports essential amino acids and p-borono-L-phenylalanine (BPA)—the chemical compound used in boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT)—and is highly expressed in many malignant tumors. Recently, LAT1 has drawn attention, and relevant treatments have been studied—LAT1 inhibitor and BNCT. LAT1 expression in proximal-type epithelioid sarcoma may lead to cogent treatments for the disease.
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.
