DeCure's autonomous Cancer AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor — screening already-approved drugs against its 22-gene Open Targets disease module to publish open-access research. Research is fast; the path to publication is funded in milestone stages.
Disease moduleInflammatory myofibroblastic tumor maps to a 22-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 inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor 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
clathrin heavy chain (CLTC) — CLTC 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 4-nitrophenyldrag to rotate · scroll to zoom
RCSB Protein Data Bank · entry 6E4L · 1.6 Å · ligand 5-bromo-N-(4-nitrophenyl)thiophene-2-sulfonamide (HRS). Experimental structure, not a prediction.
What the evidence adds up to
Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumour is a rare neoplasm of intermediate malignant potential that can occur anywhere in the body, mainly in children and young adults. Complete surgical resection is the principal treatment and is curative when margins are clear. In one series of nine children, local recurrence occurred when surgical margins were involved. The 3-year event-free survival was 58 ± 20% and overall survival was 89 ± 10%. One patient with metastatic disease achieved long-term remission with chemotherapy alone, while another patient died from severe inflammatory response.
For unresectable or metastatic disease, therapeutic options are limited. One case report describes a 76-year-old man with pleural IMT invading the chest wall and metastasising to the kidney who was treated with glucocorticoids (methylprednisolone 1 mg/kg) and radiotherapy (45 Gy over 15 fractions). After one month, chest CT showed reduction in the pleural mass and decreased infiltration around the renal pelvis. A separate case report describes a 6-year-old girl with multicentric abdominal IMT whose massive tumour was initially treated with chemotherapy, producing a dramatic response in symptoms and tumour size that allowed complete surgical resection with negligible postoperative morbidity.
The literature consistently states that IMT suffers from a paucity of standardised diagnostic and therapeutic guidelines. A 2025 Chinese expert consensus was developed through synthesis of expert opinion and literature review, aiming to improve future outcomes, but it does not report new trial data. What remains missing are prospective clinical trials, standardised treatment protocols for inoperable or metastatic disease, and reliable biomarkers to stratify patients by risk of recurrence or response to systemic therapy.
Evidence
Retrieved by DeepSearch across 234,678,978 indexed works and resolved on OpenAlex — ranked by citations, including the results that did not work.
The Journal of Urology · 2008 · 101 citations
Inflammatory Myofibroblastic Tumors of the Genitourinary Tract—Single Entity or Continuum?
AbstractPURPOSE: Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor of the genitourinary tract is a spindled soft tissue lesion that is often mistaken for sarcoma. These tumors have been described in numerous sites in the body and have been assigned many names. The relationship between inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor and other morphologically similar entities has been a long-standing source of controversy. We investigated whether inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors in adults and children are the same entity, and whether inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor is part of a biological spectrum that includes benign and malignant entities at opposite ends. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed an extensive review of the literature. RESULTS: The literature suggests that with evidence of anaplastic lymphoma kinase rearrangement and expression, the lesion is neoplastic rather than reactive, differentiating it from previously described lesions. CONCLUSIONS: Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor of the genitourinary tract should be considered a neoplasm of uncertain malignant potential, and routine surveillance and close clinical followup are recommended. Aggressive therapy (radical cystectomy, radiation or chemotherapy) is unwarranted given the indolent and often benign clinical course for the majority of cases. To understand the diagnostic and prognostic implications future emphasis should be placed on the link between genetic abnormalities, and clinical course, therapeutic response and ultimate outcome.
Pediatric Hematology and Oncology · 2013 · 34 citations
Inflammatory Myofibroblastic Tumors in Childhood
AbstractInflammatory myofibroblastic tumor (IMT) is a rare tumor of intermediate malignant potential that can occur anywhere in the body. Surgical resection is the principal treatment. We report on nine children diagnosed with IMT at our institution over a 10-year period. Presenting symptoms were reflective of tumor location. Complete surgical resection was curative. Local recurrence occurred in the presence of involved surgical margins. One patient with metastatic disease achieved long-term remission with chemotherapy alone. Severe inflammatory response and death occurred in one patient. The 3-year event free and overall survivals (OS) were 58 ± 20% and 89 ± 10% respectively.
Journal of Medical Case Reports · 2018 · 31 citations · open access
Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor of the pleura with adjacent chest wall invasion and metastasis to the kidney: a case report
AbstractBACKGROUND: Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor is a rare benign neoplasm that frequently involves the lung and abdominopelvic region, and is found mainly in children and young adults. Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor tends to be locally invasive or recurrent, and rarely metastasizes. CASE PRESENTATION: A 76-year-old Korean man presented with a history of upper back pain for 2 months and motor weakness in both lower extremities for 2 days. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography of his chest and abdomen showed a large heterogeneous pleural mass involving the right fifth rib and vertebral body and a mass infiltrating the right renal hilum. Computed tomography-guided percutaneous needle biopsy of the pleural mass was performed. The histological findings on hematoxylin and eosin staining showed proliferation of spindle cells with infiltration of lymphocytes and plasma cells. Immunohistochemistry showed neoplastic cells positive for CD68, focally positive for smooth muscle actin, and negative for cytokeratin and desmin. Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor was diagnosed based on the histological examination. Treatment with glucocorticoids (methylprednisolone 1 mg/kg) and radiotherapy (5 days/week for 3 weeks at 3 Gy/fraction, 45 Gy/15 days) was started. After 1 month, chest computed tomography showed a reduction in the size of the pleural mass, and abdominopelvic computed tomography showed decreased infiltration around the right renal pelvis. CONCLUSIONS: Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor is a rare neoplasm of intermediate malignant potential due to a tendency for local recurrence and it rarely develops distant metastases. Complete surgical resection is the primary treatment. However, unresectable and metastatic inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor can be treated with systemic therapy, including glucocorticoids, radiotherapy, and/or chemotherapy.
Journal of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology · 2013 · 9 citations
Inflammatory Myofibroblastic Tumors Following the Treatment of Malignancy in Childhood
AbstractInflammatory myofibroblastic tumors (IMT) are rare, mostly benign soft tissue tumors. Occurring mainly in children the presentation, clinical features, and diagnostic dilemmas raised are well reported. Here we describe 4 patients diagnosed with IMT after the treatment of childhood cancer, and review the literature regarding IMT and malignancy. Discussing them in this context raises clinical questions; Are these tumors incidental or a consequence of treatment? Are they more common than we think and are any miss-diagnosed as tumor recurrence? This paper aims to raise awareness of IMT as diagnostic possibilities after treatment for childhood malignancies.
Thoracic Cancer · 2025 · 5 citations · open access
Chinese Expert Consensus on the Diagnosis and Treatment of Inflammatory Myofibroblastic Tumor
AbstractInflammatory myofibroblastic tumor (IMT) is a rare spindle-cell neoplasm. IMT currently suffers from a paucity of standardized diagnostic and therapeutic guidelines. The Chinese expert consensus committee on the diagnosis and treatment of IMT formed an "Expert consensus on the diagnosis and treatment of inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor". This consensus was developed through a comprehensive synthesis of expert opinions, an extensive review of the literature, and a series of offline and online deliberations. The committee aspires that this consensus will enhance the therapeutic outcomes and prognosis for patients with IMT in the future.
Russian Journal of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology · 2020 · 4 citations · open access
Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors in children: literature review
AbstractInflammatory myofibroblastic tumor (IMT) is a rare type of neoplasm with undetermined biological potential. IMT can occur in both childhood and adulthood. The standard of therapy is radical surgical treatment, but for patients with inoperable/recurrent or metastatic forms of IMT, therapeutic options are very limited. This literature review describes specific clinical, morphological and biological characteristics of this neoplasm, provides modern approaches to the diagnosis and treatment of IMT.
Journal of Gastrointestinal Cancer · 2025 · 1 citations · open access
Can Chemotherapy Facilitate Less Morbid Surgery in Multicentric Intra-abdominal Inflammatory Myofibroblastic Tumor?
AbstractBACKGROUND: Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor is a rare benign neoplasm affecting young adults and children. Although often considered benign, its locally aggressive nature and tendency to recur make its management immensely challenging, particularly without robust evidence to guide treatment. Surgical excision offers the best hope for a cure; however, this can lead to significant morbidity and may not always be possible, especially for multicentric diseases. CASE PRESENTATION: We report a multicentric abdominal inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor in a 6-year-old girl who presented with massive abdominal distention. The sheer size of the mass, coupled with multicentric presentation and absent mobility on clinical examination, would have led to a very morbid surgical exploration. This patient was treated with initial chemotherapy, which led to a dramatic response in both symptoms and size of masses, facilitating a complete surgical resection with negligible postoperative morbidity. CONCLUSIONS: Although surgery is the preferred treatment for a resectable disease, initial chemotherapy for multicentric or locally advanced inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors facilitates complete surgical resection.
Klinicka onkologie · 2021 · 0 citations · open access
A rare histopathological finding after lung resection in a child
AbstractBACKGROUND: The authors present a case of a patient with an extremely rare lung tumor in a child. CASE: A 9-year-old girl with a 3-day history of dyspnea and stabbing pain in the xiphoid region, irradiating to the area under the left costal margin, both in rest and in physical activities. She was primarily examined in a regional hospital with bounded homogenous focus of the superior right lung lobe on the X-ray. After initial treatment with antibio-tics and persistent finding on X-ray, a CT scan of the chest was performed. It revealed an irregular oval lesion of a non-homogenous structure with a contrast dye in the S3 region merged to pericardium and parietal pleura, which the presence of several micronodules. Based on the negative tumor markers, positive PET-CT scan and a negative etiology, bio-psy or eventually a lesion exstirpation were indicated. Right-sided thoracotomy, mass enucleation and exstirpation of nodular lesions were performed 2.5 months after the onset of difficulties. Postoperative recovery was uneventful, no sign of recurrence occurred during a follow-up period. The final histological finding was verified as an inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor - an extremely rare pulmonary pathology in the pediatric population. CONCLUSION: Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor can be mimicking IgG4 sclerosing disease and inflammatory pseudotumor. It is essential to distinguish between these affections because of different (i.e. surgical vs. conservative) treatment approach.
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.
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