DeCure's autonomous Cancer AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for hairy cell leukemia — screening already-approved drugs against its 45-gene Open Targets disease module to publish open-access research. Research is fast; the path to publication is funded in milestone stages.
Disease moduleHairy cell leukemia maps to a 45-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 hairy cell leukemia 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
endothelial PAS domain protein 1 (EPAS1) — EPAS1 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 furan-2-ylmethyldrag to rotate · scroll to zoom
RCSB Protein Data Bank · entry 3H82 · 1.5 Å · ligand N-(furan-2-ylmethyl)-2-nitro-4-(trifluoromethyl)aniline (020). Experimental structure, not a prediction.
What the evidence adds up to
In a cohort of 279 patients with hairy-cell leukemia followed for a median of 10 years, median overall survival was 27 years and median relapse-free survival was 11 years. The cumulative 10-year relapse incidence was 39%. For patients receiving second-line therapy, median relapse-free survival fell to 7 years, and using the same or a different purine nucleoside analogue (cladribine or pentostatin) produced equivalent results. The 10-year cumulative incidence of second malignancies was 15% for solid tumours and 5% for haematological malignancies, with standardised incidence ratios of 1.81 and 6.67 respectively; purine analogue treatment was not a risk factor for these second cancers in multivariate analysis.
Before modern treatment, median survival was only 4 years. Purine nucleoside analogues (cladribine and pentostatin) are now the standard first-line therapy and are considered equivalent in terms of response and long-term results. Other active agents include interferon, rituximab, and splenectomy, though the latter is rarely used. One series concluded that initial treatment should be maximised because patients enjoy the highest complete response rates and longest remission durations with first-line therapy; subsequent lines yield lower response rates and more frequent relapses.
Despite these advances, the disease has not been cured. Patients can now live a near normal life expectancy, but long-term follow-up is required because of the increased risk of second malignancies. Clinical trials continue to investigate chemoimmunotherapy and novel targeted approaches, and evolving diagnostic techniques may change when treatment is initiated for relapsed patients.
What remains missing are prospective trials that clarify whether front-line chemoimmunotherapy improves relapse-free survival beyond that achieved with purine analogues alone, and whether patient stratification by molecular markers could reduce the risk of second malignancies or improve outcomes in relapsed disease.
Evidence
Retrieved by DeepSearch across 234,678,978 indexed works and resolved on OpenAlex — ranked by citations, including the results that did not work.
Blood Cancer Journal · 2020 · 59 citations · open access
Analysis of a cohort of 279 patients with hairy-cell leukemia (HCL): 10 years of follow-up
AbstractIn total, 279 patients with hairy-cell leukemia (HCL) were analyzed, with a median follow-up of 10 years. Data were collected up to June 2018. We analyzed responses to treatment, relapses, survival, and the occurrence of second malignancies during follow-up. The median age was 59 years. In total, 208 patients (75%) were treated with purine analogs (PNAs), either cladribine (159) or pentosatin (49), as the first-line therapy. After a median follow-up of 127 months, the median overall survival was 27 years, and the median relapse-free survival (RFS) was 11 years. The cumulative 10-year relapse incidence was 39%. In patients receiving second-line therapy, the median RFS was 7 years. For the second-line therapy, using the same or another PNA was equivalent. We identified 68 second malignancies in 59 patients: 49 solid cancers and 19 hematological malignancies. The 10-year cumulative incidences of cancers, solid tumors, and hematological malignancies were 15%, 11%, and 5.0%, respectively, and the standardized incidence ratios were 2.22, 1.81, and 6.67, respectively. In multivariate analysis, PNA was not a risk factor for second malignancies. HCL patients have a good long-term prognosis. PNAs are the first-line treatment. HCL patients require long-term follow-up because of their relatively increased risk of second malignancies.
Leukemia & lymphoma/Leukemia and lymphoma · 2009 · 9 citations
Long-term follow-up studies in hairy cell leukemia
AbstractEnormous progress has been made in the management of patients with hairy cell leukemia (HCL) over the past 50 years since this disease was initially described in 1958. The introduction of the two commonly used purine nucleoside analogs (pentostatin and cladribine, respectively) has independently changed the natural history of this rare malignancy. Both agents are equivalent in terms of response and long-term results. Advances in therapy are being further pursued with inclusion of monoclonal antibodies (e.g. rituximab) and other immunotherapeutic approaches. Patients with this disease now can live a near normal life expectancy, but the disease has not yet been cured. Clinical trials must continue to address the remaining unanswered questions.
Recent advances in understanding and managing hairy cell leukemia
AbstractHairy cell leukemia is a rare B-cell malignancy that is characterized by an indolent course. It was initially described as a distinct entity in 1958. Before the establishment of modern treatment, median survival was only 4 years. Since then, major advances in the treatment and understanding of the biology and genomic landscape of hairy cell leukemia have been made. This review summarizes the present understanding of hairy cell leukemia with particular focus on the development of novel and targeted approaches to treatment.
Hairy cell leukemia: current therapies and future directions
AbstractHairy cell leukemia is a rare disease for which there are multiple treatment options. Purine nucleoside analogs (cladribine and pentostatin) are generally used for front-line treatment. Other active agents include interferon, rituximab and, although rarely, splenectomy. In the series published by Zinzani et al. in Cancer, the authors conclude that initial treatment for hairy cell leukemia should be maximized since these patients generally enjoy the highest complete response rates and the longest remission durations, and subsequent lines of therapy have lower response rates and more frequent relapses. However, evolving immunohistochemical and molecular diagnostic techniques, as well as criteria for evaluating response to therapy and clinical trials investigating chemoimmunotherapy, may result in clinicians re-evaluating how patients are treated in the front-line and when treatment should be initiated for relapsed patients.
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.
