DeCure's autonomous Cancer AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for neurofibrosarcoma — screening already-approved drugs against its 1-gene Open Targets disease module to publish open-access research. Research is fast; the path to publication is funded in milestone stages.
Disease moduleNeurofibrosarcoma maps to a 1-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 neurofibrosarcoma 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.
What the evidence adds up to
Three case series from Nigeria, Switzerland, and Brazil describe neurofibrosarcoma, a malignancy that arises more often in patients with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF-1). In the Nigerian series of three patients seen between 2011 and 2013, two had NF-1 and were about a decade younger than the patient without NF-1. Late presentation and poor follow-up were noted. The Swiss series reported three patients among 22 with NF-1 seen between 1983 and 1987; mean age was 31 years, and the average interval from symptom onset to treatment was 14 months. The first signs were a rapidly enlarging mass or unusual persistent pain. Mean survival for those three patients was 37 months. The Brazilian report describes a single patient with NF-1 who had a neurofibrosarcoma of the mandible and, after treatment, showed no evidence of recurrence at 10 years of follow-up.
The abstracts give no response rates to any drug therapy. No chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or targeted agent is mentioned in any of the three reports. Treatment is described only in general terms — "adequate treatment" in the Nigerian series and "treatment" followed by long-term surveillance in the Brazilian case. The Swiss authors state that only early diagnosis provides any chance of curative treatment, but they do not specify what that treatment consisted of.
The evidence is limited to small, retrospective case series and a single case report, all from single institutions. Sample sizes are three patients or fewer. Survival data are available only for the Swiss series, where mean survival was 37 months. The Nigerian series reports no survival numbers. The Brazilian case is a single long-term survivor, but no denominator or comparator exists. No randomised trial, prospective cohort, or controlled study is present in these abstracts.
What is still missing is any prospective trial testing a specific drug, any biomarker-driven patient stratification, and any funding for a systematic clinical investigation of neurofibrosarcoma. The natural history is described, but no therapeutic intervention is evaluated. Without a trial design that assigns patients to a drug and measures outcomes, no conclusion about efficacy can be drawn.
Evidence
Retrieved by DeepSearch across 234,678,978 indexed works and resolved on OpenAlex — ranked by citations, including the results that did not work.
International Journal of Medicine · 2017 · 4 citations · open access
Neurofibrosarcoma: case series in south-south Nigeria
AbstractNeurofibrosarcoma is a malignancy that occurs more frequently in patients with neurofibromatosis- 1 (NF- 1) and rarely may arise independently. This is a presentation of 3 consecutive patients with histologic diagnosis of neurofibrosarcoma who presented to the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Calabar from 2011-2013. Two patients presented were associated with NF-1 and were a decade younger than the one without NF-1. Late presentation and poor follow up were notable underlying factors. Long term follow up of patients with NF -1 for early diagnosis and adequate treatment will improve outcome.
DMW - Deutsche Medizinische Wochenschrift · 2008 · 2 citations
Neurofibrosarkome bei Neurofibromatose 1
AbstractBetween 1983 and 1987 three patients (mean age 31 years) with neurofibrosarcoma were seen among 22 with von Recklinghausen neurofibromatosis (NF-1) at the Department of Neurology, University of Berne, Switzerland. There was an average interval of 14 months between onset of symptoms and treatment. The first presenting sign was a rapidly enlarging mass or unusual persistent pain. The occurrence of either sign, in the known presence of NF-1, should lead to immediate neuroradiological investigation. The mean survival time of the three patients was 37 months. Only early diagnosis provides any chance of curative treatment.
Autopsy and Case Reports · 2019 · 1 citations · open access
Neurofibrosarcoma of the mandible derived from neurofibromatosis
AbstractNeurofibrosarcoma is a rare malignant neoplasm of the head and neck region and accounts for 8% to 16% of all cases. Its origin is varied and may stem from cells of the peripheral nerves, develop de novo, or result from malignant transformation of preexisting neurofibromas. Because the features of neurofibrosarcomas are heterogeneous, the data retrieved during clinical examinations are of great aid for diagnosis. In this case, owing to clinical features and the fact that the patient had neurofibromatosis type 1, the hypothesis of neurofibrosarcoma was promptly established. The final diagnosis was confirmed by associating clinical, imaging, and pathological data. After the treatment, the patient has been followed up for 10 years, with no evidence of recurrence.
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.
