DeCure's autonomous Cancer AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for Krukenberg Tumor — screening already-approved drugs against its 3-gene Open Targets disease module to publish open-access research. Research is fast; the path to publication is funded in milestone stages.
Disease moduleKrukenberg Tumor maps to a 3-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 krukenberg 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
protein tyrosine phosphatase non-receptor type 11 (PTPN11) — PTPN11 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 pgedrag to rotate · scroll to zoom
RCSB Protein Data Bank · entry 4GWF · 2.1 Å · ligand TRIETHYLENE GLYCOL (PGE). Experimental structure, not a prediction.
What the evidence adds up to
In a retrospective review of 693 women who had gastric cancer resection between 1981 and 2008, 22 (3.2%) developed ovarian metastases. Their average age was 48.6 years. After diagnosis of Krukenberg tumour, average survival was 18.8 months, with an estimated 3-year survival rate of 15.8% and a range of 2 to 59 months. Patients without gross residual disease after surgery lived longer than those with residual disease (p=0.0003). Age, tumour size, initial gastric cancer stage, interval to metastasis, and adjuvant chemotherapy were not prognostic indicators. The authors concluded that early diagnosis and complete resection are the only possible hope to improve survival.
A separate Turkish study identified 8 patients with Krukenberg tumour among 1755 gastric cancer patients (0.45%). Median age was 42.2 years. Median progression-free survival was 13.2 months, median overall survival after original diagnosis was 16.7 months, and median overall survival after ovarian metastasis was only 3.6 months. The authors noted that when only the ovaries were affected, metastasectomy prolonged survival, but the prognosis was poor overall.
A Chinese series of 27 Krukenberg tumour patients reported a median age of 34 years. Among 25 patients with complete follow-up, median survival was 11.7 months, with a maximum of 46 months. Univariate analysis showed that treatment modality and age were prognostic factors: surgery plus chemotherapy improved survival (p<0.05, β=-3.294), and patients over 50 had better survival. Tumour diameter, primary site, depth of invasion, lymph node status, and size or location of ovarian metastases were not prognostic. The authors noted that Krukenberg tumour usually occurs within 2 years after primary tumour resection.
A 2016 review article states that the pathogenesis of Krukenberg tumour formation remains hypothetical, with lymphatic, haematogenous, and transcoelomic routes proposed but no clear description of the pathway in the literature. Across all studies, sample sizes are small, the data are retrospective, and no prospective trial has been conducted. What is still missing is a prospective, multicentre registry or trial that stratifies patients by residual disease status, primary tumour origin, and age, and that tests whether any systemic therapy — beyond surgery plus chemotherapy — improves the consistently short survival after ovarian metastasis.
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 the Korean Gastric Cancer Association · 2011 · 39 citations · open access
Metachronous Ovarian Metastases Following Resection of the Primary Gastric Cancer
AbstractPURPOSE: We performed this study to evaluate the clinical presentation as well as the proper surgical intervention for ovarian metastasis from gastric cancers and these tumors were identified during postoperative follow-up. This will help establish the optimal strategy for improving the survival of patients with this entity. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 22 patients (3.2%) with ovarian metastasis were noted when performing a retrospective chart review of (693) females patients who had undergone a resection for gastric cancer between 1981 and 2008. The covariates used for the survival analysis were the patient age at the time of ovarian relapse, the size of the tumor, the initial TNM stage of the gastric cancer, the interval to metastasis and the presence of gross residual disease after treatment for Krukenberg tumor. The cumulative survival curves for the patient groups were calculated with the Kaplan-Meier method and they were compared by means of the Log-Rank test. RESULTS: The average age of the patients was 48.6 years (range: 24 to 78 years) and the average survival time of the 22 patients was 18.8 months (the estimated 3-year survival rate was 15.8%) with a range of 2 to 59 months after the diagnosis of Krukenberg tumor. The survival rate for patients without gross residual disease was longer than that of the patients with gross residual disease (P=0.0003). In contrast, patient age, the size of ovarian tumor, the initial stage of gastric adenocarcinoma, the interval to metastasis and adjuvant chemotherapy were not prognostic indicators for survival after the development of ovarian metastasis. CONCLUSIONS: Early diagnosis and complete resection are the only possible hope to improve survival. As the 3-year survival rate after resection of Krukenberg tumor is 15.8%, it seems worthwhile to consider performing tumorectomy as the second cytoreduction.
Advances in Reproductive Sciences · 2016 · 22 citations · open access
An Up-to-Date Understanding of the “Krukenberg Tumor” Mechanism
AbstractKrukenbergtumor is a metastatic ovarian tumor with its primary site being the gastrointestinal tract. The pathogenesis of Krukenberg tumor formation is still in its hypothetical stage though the current understanding suggests lymphatic, hematogenous and transcoelomic route as the 3 major route of metastasis. There is a lack of description in the literature related to the pathway of metastasis. Here, we intend to search the available literature and provide a thorough review, which may be helpful to the readers to understand the issue of mechanism of Krukenberg tumor metastasis more clearly.
Współczesna Onkologia · 2013 · 14 citations · open access
Isolated ovarian metastasis of gastric cancer: Krukenberg tumor
AbstractINTRODUCTION: Gastric cancer, one of the most common cancers in the world, rarely metastasizes to the ovaries. Ovarian metastases of gastric signet ring cell cancer (SRCC) are referred to as Krukenberg tumors and account for 1-2% of all ovarian cancers. Here, we analyze the characteristics, treatment, and prognosis of patients with Krukenberg tumors. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the demographic characteristics, treatment modalities, progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) of patients who were diagnosed with Krukenberg tumors of gastric cancer origin and who underwent treatment and follow-up between January 2005 and January 2012 in the Ankara Oncology Education and Research Hospital. RESULTS: Among 1755 patients diagnosed with gastric cancer between January 2005 and January 2012, eight patients (0.45%) with histopathologically identified Krukenberg tumors were enrolled. The median age of the eight patients was 42.2 years (range, 32-69 years). Two (25%) of the patients were stage 3A, two (25%) were stage 3C, and four (50%) were stage 4 at the time of diagnosis. The median PFS was 13.2 months (1-25 months), the median OS after the original diagnosis was 16.7 months (1-41 months), and the median OS after ovarian metastasis was 3.6 months (1-10 months). DISCUSSION: Krukenberg tumors were seen particularly in young patients and more frequently during the premenopausal period. The prognosis was poor. When only the ovaries were affected, metastasectomy prolonged the survival time.
Chin Arch Gen Surg(Electronic Edition) · 2011 · 0 citations
Clinical characters and survival analysis of twenty-seven cases with Krukenberg tumors
AbstractObjective
To investigate the clinical characteristics and prognostic factors of Krukenberg tumors, in order to improve clinical survival.
Methods
Twenty-seven patients diagnosed with Krukenberg tumors from January 1996 to Auguest 2008 were investigated retrospectively.
Results
The median age at diagnosis was 34 years old. Eight cases(53.3%) got positive result in tumor markers(ex. CEA, AFP, CA125, CA199, squamous cell carcinoma antigen) among 15 cases. The tumors number of gastric origin, colorectal origin, appendiceal origin, and other origins were 14, 11, 1 and 1, respectively. Tumors involved bilateral in 16 cases and unilateral in 11 cases. Among 25 patients with full follow-up data, the maximum survival time was 46 months and the median survival time was 11.7 months. Univariateanalysis showed that prognostic factors were treatment modality and age, likelihood ratio χ2=11.450, P<0.05. Surgery plus chemotherapy could improve survival, P<0.05, β=-3.294. The diameter, origins, deep of tumor invasion, lymph node status of primary tumor as well as the tumor size, location, differentiation of ovary metastatic tumor were not the prognostic factors.
Conclusions
Krukenberg tumor usually occurred within 2 years after the primary tumor resection. Patients of GI tract tumors should be follow-up including ovary status. Surgery plus chemotherapy may be the first choice treatment, and cases over 50 years old have better survival.
Key words:
Krukenberg; Gastrointestinal tumor; Prognosis
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.
