DeCure's autonomous Cancer AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for malignant colon neoplasm — screening already-approved drugs against its 43-gene Open Targets disease module to publish open-access research. Research is fast; the path to publication is funded in milestone stages.
Disease moduleMalignant colon neoplasm maps to a 43-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 malignant colon neoplasm 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
hydroxyacid oxidase 1 (HAO1) — HAO1 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 fmndrag to rotate · scroll to zoom
RCSB Protein Data Bank · entry 2NZL · 1.35 Å · ligand FLAVIN MONONUCLEOTIDE (FMN). Experimental structure, not a prediction.
What the evidence adds up to
The abstracts do not describe any drug treatment or repurposing trial for malignant colon neoplasm. They focus entirely on pathogenesis, risk factors, cell adhesion molecule expression, case reports of rare tumour types, and surgical management of obstruction. One abstract notes that colorectal cancer is common and that prevention, early detection, and surgery are the mainstays of care, but gives no numbers for survival or response to any drug. Another abstract states that patients with malignant colonic obstruction have shorter survival than those without obstruction, but again provides no quantitative survival data.
A 2000 study comparing ulcerative colitis-associated colon neoplasms with sporadic colon neoplasms found that CD44 and DCC expression was stronger in sporadic lesions, alpha-catenin was more expressed in sporadic severe dysplasia and carcinomas, and membranous beta-catenin staining was stronger in colitis-associated lesions while sporadic lesions had greater cytoplasmic and nuclear expression. The authors conclude these differences suggest separate tumourigenesis pathways. No drug was tested.
Several case reports describe rare entities: a primary squamous cell carcinoma of the sigmoid colon (fewer than 150 cases reported up to 2014), a mixed colonic neoplasm that metastasised as a germ cell component in one 29-year-old man, and a patient with five synchronous primary gastrointestinal neoplasms. A 2005 review of small bowel adenocarcinoma notes it shares genetic features with colorectal cancer but is rare and has a dismal prognosis. None of these reports involve drug intervention.
What is missing: any clinical trial testing a drug for colon cancer, any repurposing hypothesis, any patient stratification by molecular subtype, and any funding for such work. The abstracts provide no evidence that any drug alters the course of malignant colon neoplasm.
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 American Journal of Gastroenterology · 2005 · 99 citations
Pathogenesis and Risk Factors of Small Bowel Adenocarcinoma: A Colorectal Cancer Sibling?
AbstractSmall bowel adenocarcinoma (SBA) is a very rare entity accounting for one-fourth of the small intestine neoplasms. Usually accompanied by nonspecific symptoms occurring late in the course of the disease, they are associated with a dismal prognosis. It appears that SBA shares several genetic characteristics with large bowel tumors, but also has unique features. The purpose of this article is to review pathogenesis and risks factors of SBA to better understand its molecular features as well as its resemblances and dissimilarities with colorectal cancer (CRC). Better understanding of sporadic and hereditary genetic pathways potentially involved will undoubtedly lead to better prevention and therapeutic management of this rare but aggressive disease.
Decreased expression of CD44, alpha‐catenin, and deleted colon carcinoma and altered expression of beta‐catenin in ulcerative colitis‐associated dysplasia and carcinoma, as compared with sporadic colon neoplasms
AbstractBACKGROUND: To clarify the cell adhesion status in ulcerative colitis (UC)-associated colon neoplasm, expression of cell adhesion molecules were investigated and compared with that of sporadic colon neoplasm. METHODS: A total of 14 low grade dysplasias, 16 high grade dysplasias, and 8 adenocarcinomas associated with UC and 17 sporadic adenomas with mild to moderate dysplasia, 22 adenomas with severe dysplasia, and 15 invasive adenocarcinomas were immunohistochemically examined using monoclonal antibodies against CD44, E-cadherin, alpha- and beta-catenin, and deleted colon carcinoma (DCC). RESULTS: CD44, especially its standard form, and DCC expression was stronger in the sporadic colon neoplasms than in the UC-associated lesions. Although E-cadherin did not show significant differences between the two cases, alpha-catenin was more expressed in sporadic colon adenomas with severe dysplasia and carcinomas than in their UC-associated counterparts. Membranous beta-catenin staining was stronger in UC-associated neoplasms, whereas sporadic lesions had greater cytoplasmic and nuclear expression. CONCLUSIONS: The differences in cell adhesion molecule expression suggests that UC-associated and sporadic colon neoplasms arise from different pathways of tumorigenesis.
Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology · 1996 · 15 citations
Five Primary Synchronous Neoplasms of the Gastrointestinal Tract
AbstractMultiple primary malignant neoplasms in a single patient have been well documented in the literature over the past hundred years. The lesions can be limited to a single organ or involve multiple organ systems. It is relatively common for patients with colorectal carcinoma or carcinoid tumors to have more than one primary neoplasm. Colonic lesions can be synchronous or metachronous in presentation and colonic or extracolonic in location. We present a patient with five primary synchronous neoplasms of the gastrointestinal tract, involving the stomach, small bowel, and colon. The patient had no evidence of metastatic disease and underwent resection of all the lesions. This case illustrates the need for a thorough search for additional neoplasms in the treatment of patients with cancer.
Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine · 2001 · 8 citations
Colonic Adenocarcinoma Metastasizing as a Germ Cell Neoplasm
AbstractAbstract Mixed tumors of the gastrointestinal tract, including both adenocarcinoma and germ cell neoplasm, have been reported infrequently. In the colon, only 9 cases, to our knowledge, have been described in the English-language literature. This is the case of a 29-year-old man with an unsuspected mixed colonic neoplasm that metastasized as the germ cell component.
Encyclopedia of Life Sciences · 2003 · 1 citations
Colon Cancer
AbstractAbstract Colon cancer is a neoplastic disease of the large intestine, which can be derived from both inherited or somatic genetic alterations that develop over the course of a lifetime. Prevention together with early detection and treatment are the keys to a successful outcome for this very common disease.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2025 · 0 citations · open access
Primary squamous cell carcinoma of the sigmoid colon revealed by acute intestinal obstruction: A case report and literature review
AbstractPrimary squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the colon is an exceptional tumor. Fewer than 150 cases have been reported in the literature up to 2014. Besides its rarity, it is often associated with other digestive neoplasms. We report the case of a 54-year-old patient with primary SCC of the colon. This case allows us to discuss the anatomo-clinical and therapeutic characteristics, as well as the etiopathogenic hypotheses of this uncommon entity.
Scripta Scientifica Medica · 2012 · 0 citations · open access
Surgical options for neoplastic large bowel obstruction
AbstractColorectal cancer is the third most common cancer in men and the second in women world wide. The majority of the cases of acute neoplastic large bowel obstruction are secondary to colorectal cancer. The other reasons are those from ovarian cancer, bladder cancer, metastatic pelvic cancer, lymphoma, sarcoma. Surgery is the corner stone of CRC cancer treatment and is generally under taken within 6-8 months of diagnosis. The vastmajority of colon cancers can be resected with curative intent. As a result hundreds of thousands of people with resected CRC are candidates for surveillance. As a whole patients with malignant colonic obstruction carry greater risk of poor outcome from the therapeutic procedures and they have shorter surveillance and survival rate, compared with those without complicated course of CRC. Therapeutic strategy in patients with neoplastic large bowel obstruction is mainly determined by location of the obstruction, clinical stage and performance status. Therapeutic strategy in those patients could one of the most challenging clinical scenaria, balansing between advantages/benefits and disadvantages of surgical interven tions and procedures, there prognosis and outcome, tumor biology and last but not least, the quality of life of the patients. SSM, 2012;44(1):21-27
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.
