DeCure's autonomous Cancer AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for gallbladder carcinoma — 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 moduleGallbladder carcinoma 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 gallbladder 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
CREB binding lysine acetyltransferase (CREBBP) — CREBBP 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 1vudrag to rotate · scroll to zoom
RCSB Protein Data Bank · entry 9H0K · 1.75 Å · ligand propionyl Coenzyme A (1VU). Experimental structure, not a prediction.
What the evidence adds up to
Gallbladder carcinoma is a rare and highly aggressive malignancy with a dismal prognosis, largely because it presents no distinct early symptoms and progresses rapidly. The squamous cell variant is locally aggressive, and data on its management are minimal; surgical palliation remains the mainstay for unresectable disease, with one 2017 case report offering no survival data or response rates. A 2025 comprehensive review confirms that gallbladder cancer is the most common biliary tract cancer and the fifth most common gastrointestinal malignancy globally, but it does not report any concrete survival figures, response rates, or sample sizes from trials.
Current treatment options offer only limited curative capacity. A 2022 review of biomarkers such as Cyclin D1, E-Cadherin, EGFR, HER-2, Ki67, and p53 notes that while these molecules have been studied, no disease-specific, highly sensitive marker for gallbladder cancer has been isolated. The review explicitly states that the availability of such markers is "yet a task to be achieved." It also reports that gallbladder cancer has the shortest median survival time among biliary tract cancers, but gives no specific number.
The 2025 review mentions novel therapeutic avenues including immunotherapy and targeted molecular agents, but provides no data from any completed trial showing improved survival. No drug is named in any of the abstracts, and no treatment is recommended. What is still missing are well-funded, adequately powered clinical trials that can test these proposed agents, reliable patient stratification tools, and validated biomarkers that can predict response or 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.
Annals of Research Hospitals · 2017 · 0 citations · open access
Infiltrative squamous cell carcinoma of the gallbladder: a unique approach to surgical palliation
AbstractGallbladder carcinoma is a very rare malignancy with a poor prognosis. The squamous cell variant of this cancer is a locally aggressive lesion with minimal data available on its management. The use of surgical palliative approaches remains the main stay of therapy for un-resectable disease. It is hoped that the surgical approach utilized in this case may provide additional insight on treatment options.
SAS Journal of Surgery · 2025 · 0 citations · open access
Comprehensive Review on Carcinoma of the Gallbladder: Epidemiology, Pathogenesis, Diagnosis, and Contemporary Management Strategies
AbstractCarcinoma of the gallbladder (Gallbladder Cancer, GBC) is an uncommon yet highly aggressive malignancy associated with a dismal prognosis, primarily due to its asymptomatic presentation in early stages and rapid progression to advanced disease. Representing the most prevalent cancer of the biliary tract and ranking as the fifth most common gastrointestinal malignancy globally, GBC poses significant diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. This exhaustive review synthesizes current evidence on the epidemiology, etiopathogenesis, molecular mechanisms, clinical manifestations, diagnostic techniques, staging classifications, and evolving treatment paradigms for gallbladder carcinoma. Additionally, we explore novel therapeutic avenues, including immunotherapy and targeted molecular agents, while highlighting future research directions aimed at improving survival outcomes.
Journal of Pharmaceutical Negative Results · 2022 · 0 citations · open access
Clinicopathological And Prognostic Significance Of Immuno-Expression Of Cyclin D1, E-Cadherin, EGFR, HER- 2, Ki67, And P53 In Gall Bladder Cancer And Its Precursor Lesions-A Review
AbstractGallbladder carcinoma (GBC) is an aggressive and common cancer of the biliary tract. It develops on the epithelia of the gallbladder and is has the ability to rapidly metastasize to nearby organs and distant lymph nodes. It also has the shortest median survival time when compared to other biliary tract cancers [1]. As the disease rarely presents a distinct set of clinical symptoms, delayed diagnosis contributes heavily towards the negative prognosis widely associated with the disease [2]. The molecular mechanisms and underlying changes that bring about carcinogenesis of the gallbladder epithelia, though widely studied have not been fully understood. Chronic inflammation [3], dysplasia [4] and adenoma [5] among other factors have been observed to increase the risk of developing GBC among other risk factors. With current treatment options offering only limited curative capacities, identifying and studying biomarkers with potential to speed up prognostics and having clinical applicability has become a priority. These biomarkers, apart from playing an important role in carcinogenesis, need to be specific for GBC and their levels should vary significantly enough to differentiate between malignant and benign conditions. Though several such molecules have been identified and used in diagnostic trials, the availability of disease-specific and highly sensitive markers for GBC is yet a task to be achieved. Isolation of such prognostic markers will help in understanding disease progression [6]. Further, expression levels of these prognostic markers can be used to aid in the determination of the clinical course of action, patient response to therapy and the need for adjuvant therapy [7]. An ideal prognostic marker should be easily quantifiable with high sensitivity, specificity and its levels should significantly vary to be able to differentiate benign conditions from malignancy. A clinically applicable prognostic marker should be able to predict recurrence, survivability and need for adjuvant therapies. Several categories of markers have been studied to date and include tumour markers such as CA125, CA19-9, CEA, inflammatory markers like CRP, tumour suppressors like p53, E-cadherin etc. In this review we hope to explore the future prospects of some of these markers based on available literature.
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.
[Comprehensive treatment based on oncology principles should also be emphasized for treating gallbladder cancer].
AbstractGallbladder carcinoma(GBC) is one of the most malignant cancers of the digestive system with very poor prognosis due to its histopathological features of easy invasion to the liver, early lymph node metastasis and nerve infiltration, which result in low resection rate. It has been confirmed that radical surgery only makes sense to relatively early GBC in improving prognosis of patients. Therefore, based on recognition of biological characteristics of GBC and the theories of oncology, efforts should be focused on developing various adjuvant treatment methods for treating GBC including chemotherapy, radiotherapy, targeted therapy and immunotherapy.
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.
