DeCure's autonomous Cancer AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for Gallbladder Adenosquamous Carcinoma — screening already-approved drugs against its 4-gene Open Targets disease module to publish open-access research. Research is fast; the path to publication is funded in milestone stages.
Disease moduleGallbladder Adenosquamous Carcinoma maps to a 4-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 gallbladder adenosquamous 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
kelch like ECH associated protein 1 (KEAP1) — KEAP1 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 2r,3sdrag to rotate · scroll to zoom
RCSB Protein Data Bank · entry 8IXS · 1.48 Å · ligand (2R,3S)-3-[[(2S)-2-fluoranyl-2-(5,6,7,8-tetrahydronaphthalen-2-yl)ethanoyl]amino]-2-methyl-3-(4-methylphenyl)propanoic acid (T6I). Experimental structure, not a prediction.
What the evidence adds up to
Gallbladder adenosquamous carcinoma accounts for only 1–5% of all gallbladder carcinomas, with adenocarcinoma representing 90–95% of cases. One study reports a range of 1–4% for the adenosquamous variant. These tumours show aggressive biologic behaviour, often extending to adjacent structures, and the squamous component may have a proliferative capacity up to twice that of the adenocarcinomatous component. Complete surgical resection is the mainstay of treatment, but prognosis is generally poor. A 2021 case report describes a 69-year-old man with AJCC Stage IV moderately differentiated adenosquamous carcinoma treated with radical cholecystectomy including liver segments IVb, V and VI. A 2005 study notes that patients with adenosquamous or squamous cell carcinoma of the gallbladder are clinically similar to those with adenocarcinoma but have a tendency for liver infiltration, and that better survival can be obtained with curative resection.
Median survival for patients with adenosquamous carcinoma is less than a year regardless of medical or surgical intervention, according to a 2023 case report. That same report presents a 70-year-old woman who, after diagnosis, was lost to follow-up for two years and then underwent extended cholecystectomy; she showed no recurrence during two further years of follow-up, described as an unusually better prognosis. The 2005 study states that both histopathologic subtypes have similarly poor outcomes. For gallbladder carcinoma overall, radical surgery is the only potentially curative option, but late diagnosis means few patients are eligible, and 2-year survival for unresectable disease is less than 10% (2020 proteomics study).
No drug therapy is mentioned in any of these abstracts. The 2020 proteomics study calls for development of new treatment options including targeted therapy, but no specific agents, targets, or trial results are reported. What is still missing is any clinical trial testing a drug in gallbladder adenosquamous carcinoma, any molecular profiling that might identify actionable targets in this rare subtype, and any prospective data on whether patient stratification by squamous versus adenocarcinomatous component could alter management.
Evidence
Retrieved by DeepSearch across 234,678,978 indexed works and resolved on OpenAlex — ranked by citations, including the results that did not work.
Journal of Surgical Case Reports · 2021 · 10 citations · open access
Gallbladder adenosquamous carcinoma: a case report and literature review
AbstractRepresenting 90-95% of all malignant gallbladder neoplasms, adenocarcinoma is by far the most common subtype. Adenosquamous carcinoma is a rare subtype, accounting for only 1-5% of all gallbladder carcinomas. These tumors have been shown to have aggressive biologic behavior, commonly extending to adjacent structures. Some studies have shown that the squamous component often displayed a greater proliferative capacity than the adenocarcinomatous component (possibly even up to twice as fast). Complete surgical resection is currently the mainstay of treatment but the prognosis is often poor. In this paper, we present a case of a 69-year-old male with an AJCC Stage IV moderately differentiated adenosquamous carcinoma of the gallbladder treated with radical cholecystectomy including liver segments IVb, V, VI.
Journal of Nepal Medical Association · 2023 · 3 citations · open access
Adenosquamous Carcinoma of Gallbladder with Unusual Prognosis: A Case Report
AbstractThe adenosquamous carcinoma of the gallbladder is a rare variant accounting for only 1-4% of all primary gallbladder carcinoma. Regardless of the histological types, all gallbladder carcinomas have silent and rapid progression resulting in delayed diagnosis and poor prognosis. Even with medical and/or surgical interventions, the median survival of patients with adenosquamous carcinoma, one of the histological variants, is less than a year. However, we present a case of adenosquamous carcinoma with an unusually better prognosis. A 70-year-old female patient, after being diagnosed with gallbladder carcinoma was suggested for surgical resection but was lost to follow-up since then. Two years later, the patient presented and was managed with extended cholecystectomy. The slow progression and non-recurrence of the tumour during follow-up for two years after the surgery indicates a better prognosis in this case. Keywords: carcinoma; case reports; cholecystectomy; prognosis.
International Journal of Surgery Case Reports · 2016 · 3 citations · open access
Surgical resection of splenic metastasis from the adenosquamous gallbladder carcinoma
AbstractINTRODUCTION: Splenic metastasis of gallbladder carcinoma is extremely rare. Specific anatomical, histological, and functional properties of spleen are believed to be responsible for the rarity of solitary splenic metastasis. PRESENTATION OF CASE: We present the case of a 62-year-old female who developed metachronous splenic metastasis of adenosquamous carcinoma of the gallbladder. We performed central bisegmentectomy of the liver for gallbladder carcinoma. The patient subsequently presented 3 months later with isolated splenic metastasis and liver metastasis. Splenectomy and partial hepatectomy was performed at this time. Histological examination confirmed metastatic adenosquamous carcinoma of the gallbladder. No signs of recurrence were observed at 3 months after the second surgery. DISCUSSION: Although splenectomy provides a potential means of radical treatment in patients with isolated splenic metastases, it should be performed with caution as splenic metastatic lesions may represent the initial clinical manifestation of systemic metastases at multiple sites. In this case, radical surgery was performed following the confirmation of no new unresectable metastatic lesions or systemic dissemination. CONCLUSION: This is the first report on the adenosquamous splenic metastasis from the gallbladder carcinoma. Curative resection may be the treatment of choice for prolonging survival in patients with the splenic metastasis of gallbladder carcinoma.
AbstractPatients with adenosquamous/squamous cell carcinoma of the gallbladder were generally similar to those with adenocarcinoma in clinical characteristics, but had a tendency for liver infiltration. Although the two histopathologic subtypes of the gallbladder carcinoma had similar poor outcomes, better survival could be obtained by performing curative resection for these patients.
AbstractGallbladder carcinoma (GBC) is a rare and understudied cancer entity. Radical surgery is the only potentially curative treatment option but due to late diagnosis few patients are eligible and 2-year survival rates of unresectable GBC is less than 10%. Therefore, the development of new treatment options, including targeted therapy for GBC is required to improve patient outcome.
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.
