DeCure's autonomous Cancer AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for Gastric Squamous Cell Carcinoma — screening already-approved drugs against its 5-gene Open Targets disease module to publish open-access research. Research is fast; the path to publication is funded in milestone stages.
Disease moduleGastric Squamous Cell Carcinoma maps to a 5-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 gastric squamous cell 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
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
A retrospective analysis of 21 patients with primary gastric squamous cell carcinoma (PGSCC) reported a median age of 67 years, male predominance, and tumour cells positive for p63 and CK5/6. The median survival for the surgery group was 46 months versus 4.5 months for the non-surgery group. Among patients who had surgery, the median survival was 46 months with surgery alone and 51 months with surgery plus adjuvant therapy; the difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.310), probably due to the small sample size. The authors state that a standard chemotherapy regimen has not been established and that the choice of regimens tends to follow principles used for gastric adenocarcinoma or oesophageal cancer. They conclude that early detection and surgical treatment are beneficial but that the overall prognosis is poor.
A separate 2005 study compared gastric carcinomas invading the muscularis propria with those limited to mucosa or submucosa and those invading subserosa or serosa. Carcinomas invading the muscularis propria were intermediate in tumour size, lymph node metastasis, haematogenous metastasis, and postoperative survival between early and advanced carcinomas. This study did not specifically address squamous cell carcinoma.
A 2024 case report reiterates that primary gastric squamous cell carcinoma is extremely rare, its etiopathology unknown, and its prognosis generally poor. The authors note that diagnostic criteria are standardised but that no optimal treatment strategy is defined because of the rarity of the disease. A 2018 molecular profiling study of gastric signet ring cell carcinoma found no known effective molecularly targeted therapies for that subtype; it did not examine squamous cell carcinoma.
What remains missing is a prospective trial or even a sufficiently large retrospective series to establish a standard chemotherapy or targeted therapy for PGSCC. No molecular profiling data specific to gastric squamous cell carcinoma are available in these abstracts to guide patient stratification. Funding for such rare-disease research is scarce, and no ongoing trial is mentioned.
Evidence
Retrieved by DeepSearch across 234,678,978 indexed works and resolved on OpenAlex — ranked by citations, including the results that did not work.
Gastroenterology Research and Practice · 2016 · 32 citations · open access
Clinicopathological Characteristics, Treatment, and Prognosis of 21 Patients with Primary Gastric Squamous Cell Carcinoma
AbstractWe performed a retrospective analysis of 21 patients with primary gastric squamous cell carcinoma (PGSCC) who were admitted to our hospital from October 2008 to October 2014. The median age was 67 years and male predominance was observed, the most common tumor locations were the upper third of the stomach, most of the clinical manifestations were identical to those of other types of gastric tumors, and the tumor cells had positive immunoreactivity for p63 and CK5/6. In terms of treatments, surgery (R0 resection) is the main treatment; the effect of other treatments is unclear. The median survival time for the surgery group and nonsurgery group was 46 and 4.5 months, respectively. Probably due to limited number of cases, no significant difference in median survival time was observed between the surgery alone group and the surgery plus adjuvant therapy group (46 versus 51 months, P = 0.310). A standard chemotherapy regimen for this disease has not yet been established; the choice of its chemotherapy regimens tends to follow the principle of the treatment of gastric adenocarcinoma or esophageal cancer. PGSCC generally had a poor prognosis, and early detection, early diagnosis, and early surgical treatment are beneficial to patients.
Journal of Surgical Oncology · 2005 · 16 citations · open access
Characteristics of gastric carcinoma invading the muscularis propria
AbstractBACKGROUND: Although gastric carcinomas invading the muscularis propria (mp) are classified among advanced-stage cancers in Japan, postoperative survival has been reported to approximate that in early gastric carcinoma. Characteristics of gastric carcinomas invading the mp, therefore, were compared to carcinomas invading only the mucosa (m) or submucosa (sm), and to those invading the subserosa (ss) or serosa (se). METHODS: We retrospectively compared clinicopathologic findings, prognosis, and cause of death in patients with gastric carcinoma invading mp to those showing the other levels of invasion. RESULTS: Patients with carcinomas invading the mp had larger tumors and more frequent lymph node and hematogenous metastases than those with carcinomas invading only m or sm. Yet they had smaller tumors and less frequent lymph node or peritoneal metastasis than those with carcinomas invading ss or se. Postoperative survival with tumors invading the mp was intermediate between that with carcinoma invading only m or sm and that with subserosal or serosal invasion. Causes of death with tumors invading muscularis were similar to those with carcinomas invading only m or sm. CONCLUSIONS: Characteristics of gastric carcinoma invading the mp are intermediate between those of early and advanced carcinoma.
Frontiers in Pharmacology · 2020 · 4 citations · open access
Apatinib Combined With SOX Regimen in Conversion Treatment of Advanced Gastric Cancer: A Case Series and Literature Review
AbstractGastric cancer is a common digestive tract tumor and the second most prevalent cancer. The prognosis of advanced gastric cancer is poor. Conversion therapy can reduce tumor burden, downgrade tumor, and increase the possibility of complete resection, thus prolonging the survival time of patients with gastric cancer. In conversion therapy, chemotherapy and targeted therapy are the main methods of medical treatment, which can control tumor growth and recurrence. As an antiangiogenic targeted drug, apatinib is widely used in the third-line treatment of advanced gastric cancer. Recent studies have shown that it may be of great help in rapid reduction of tumor stage and improvement of prognosis in conversion therapy. This study reported three cases of gastric cancer complicated with multiple abdominal and retroperitoneal lymph node metastases. After receiving apatinib combined with SOX regimen for four cycles, computed tomography showed that the focus and lymph node metastasis were reduced after treatment, and primary tumors were resected. Postoperative pathology result showed that the patients got R0 resection. After radical surgery, the maintenance therapy including apatinib was given. The progression-free survival time was more than 10 months. Apatinib combined with SOX regimen as a conversion therapy for advanced gastric adenocarcinoma increases the possibility of successful surgical resection, which might prolong the survival time of patients.
Journal of Surgical Case Reports · 2024 · 3 citations · open access
Primary gastric squamous cell carcinoma: case report
AbstractPrimary gastric squamous cell carcinoma is an extremely rare entity with an unknown etiopathology, and prognosis is generally poor. While diagnostic criteria are standardized, the optimal treatment strategy is not defined due to its rarity. In this article, we present a case of primary gastric squamous cell carcinoma, discussing its approach and treatment.
Annals of Oncology · 2018 · 1 citations · open access
Targeted-sequencing and comprehensive molecular profiling of gastric signet ring cell carcinoma
AbstractIntroduction: Gastric cancer is a heterogeneous disease with various molecular subtypes. Signet ring cell carcinoma is characterized by a highly malignant phenotype of gastric cancer with no known effective molecularly targeted therapies. The limited knowledge of the molecular mechanisms underlying signet ring cell carcinoma hinders the development of therapeutic strategies.
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.
