DeCure's autonomous Cancer AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for Ethmoid Sinus Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma — screening already-approved drugs against its 1-gene Open Targets disease module to publish open-access research. Research is fast; the path to publication is funded in milestone stages.
Disease moduleEthmoid Sinus Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma maps to a 1-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 ethmoid sinus adenoid cystic 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
tumor protein p53 (TP53) — TP53 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 9R2Q · 3.2 Å · ligand none (apo structure). Experimental structure, not a prediction.
What the evidence adds up to
A 2001 series from Rotterdam reported 62 patients with ethmoidal adenocarcinoma treated by surgical debulking and repeated topical fluorouracil, with 8 patients receiving radiotherapy for local recurrence. Adjusted disease-free survival was 96% at 2 years, 87% at 5 years, and 74% at 10 years. There were no perioperative deaths; temporary periorbital swelling occurred in 40% of patients and temporary cerebrospinal fluid leakage in 8%. The authors concluded that this regimen represented the current treatment of choice for these patients.
A 1992 series of 11 patients with ethmoid sinus carcinoma treated by transcranial resection included cases of adenoid cystic carcinoma. The authors reported that local disease control and survival were determined primarily by histopathologic classification rather than by invasion of dura or orbit. Good to excellent control was achieved for adenocarcinoma, adenoid cystic carcinoma, and squamous cell carcinoma, but could not be demonstrated for undifferentiated carcinoma. The authors recommended adjuvant chemotherapy and radiation for anaplastic malignancies.
Two case reports from 1982 described women aged 72 and 25 with ethmoid sinus carcinoma treated with surgery and irradiation. Both were alive without evidence of recurrent tumour at 3 years 6 months and 1 year 1 month, respectively. A 1996 case report described a 56-year-old man with adenosquamous carcinoma of the ethmoid sinus extending to the anterior skull base. He received preoperative chemoradiotherapy with carboplatin and radiation, followed by complete resection via a combined craniofacial approach. There was no evidence of recurrence at 2 years 6 months.
None of these studies specifically address ethmoid sinus adenoid cystic carcinoma as a distinct entity; the 1992 series includes it among other histologies but gives no separate survival figures. No controlled trial exists for this rare tumour at this site. What is missing is prospective data on adenoid cystic carcinoma alone, standardised staging, and any trial comparing topical or systemic chemotherapy with surgery alone.
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 Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery · 2001 · 103 citations · open access
Adenocarcinoma of the Ethmoidal Sinus Complex
AbstractOBJECTIVES: To report our experience with the management of adenocarcinoma of the ethmoidal sinuses using a regimen of surgical debulking and topical chemotherapy, to report long-term survival, and to compare our results with recently published series of patients undergoing craniofacial resection. DESIGN: Review of prospectively collected data. SETTING: Tertiary cancer center. PATIENTS: Seventy consecutive patients with ethmoidal adenocarcinoma referred to the Department of Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital of Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands, between January 1976 and December 1997. Sixty-two patients were eligible for primary treatment. INTERVENTIONS: Surgical debulking via an extended anterior maxillary antrostomy followed by a combination of repeated topical chemotherapy (fluorouracil) and necrotomy. Additionally 8 patients (13%) required radiotherapy for local recurrence; 1 patient required surgery for regional lymph node metastases. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Survival measured by the Kaplan-Meier method. Clinical complications related to the therapy. RESULTS: There were no perioperative deaths. Complications did occur, such as temporary periorbital swelling (25 patients [40%]) and temporary cerebrospinal fluid leakage (5 patients [8%]). One patient (1.6%) developed meningitis. Adjusted disease-free survival at 2, 5, and 10 years is 96%, 87%, and 74%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Our 23-year experience with a combination of surgical debulking and repeated topical chemotherapy for patients with adenocarcinoma of the ethmoidal sinuses leads us to believe that it represents the current treatment of choice for these patients for long-term disease-free survival.
Transcranial Resection of Ethmoid Sinus Cancer Involving the Anterior Skull Base
AbstractWe present 11 cases of ethmoid sinus careinoma treated primarily by transcranial surgical resection and followed 1(1/2) to 7 years. Morbidity and mortality following surgery has proved acceptable. Local disease control and survival prognosis of the patients have been determined primarily by the histopathologic classification of the cancer rather than by invasion of dura or orbit. Good to excellent control has been achieved in cases of adenocarcinoma, adenoid cystic carcinoma, and squamous cell careinoma, but could not be demonstrated for undifferentiated carcinoma. Alternate means of treatment, including adjuvant chemotherapy and radiation therapy, are recommended for such anaplastic malignancies.
AbstractTwo cases of carcinoma of the ethmoid sinus was reported. One was a 72-year-old female and the other was a 25-year-old female. The first symptom was epistaxis and exophthalmus. No cervical lymphnode was palpable in both cases. They were treated with surgery and irradiation. The first case is recently alive 3 years and 6 months after the initial treatments with no evidence of recurrent tumor. The second case is recently alive 1 year and 1 month from the initial treatment without any evidence of the recurrent tumor.
Practica Oto-Rhino-Laryngologica · 1996 · 0 citations · open access
Adenosquamous Carcinoma of the Ethmoid Sinus with Intracranial Extension.
AbstractAdenosquamous carcinoma of the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses is very rare. We report a 56-year-old man with adenosquamous carcinoma of the left ethmoid sinus extending to the anterior skull base. Chief complaints of the patient were left nasal obstruction and left epistaxis. CT scan and MRI revealed a tumor shadow in the left ethmoid sinus extending to the nasal cavity, the left maxillary sinus, and the anterior skull base. Concomitant chemoradiotherapy (CBDCA+radiation) was performed preoperatively. Using a combined craniof acial approach, the tumor was completely removed, including the anterior skull base. There has been no evidence of recurrence for two years and six months since the operation.
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.
