DeCure's autonomous Cancer AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for non-small cell squamous lung carcinoma — screening already-approved drugs against its 5-gene Open Targets disease module to publish open-access research. Research is fast; the path to publication is funded in milestone stages.
Disease moduleNon-small cell squamous lung carcinoma maps to a 5-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
Structures already discussed alongside non-small cell squamous lung carcinoma in the retrieved literature, rendered from public PubChem SMILES. Which drugs appear here reflects the evidence found, not a ranked prediction.
Molecular view
Structure of L1196M Mutant Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase — Crizotinib has a real, experimentally solved structure in complex with this target (PDB 2YFX, 1.7 Å). This is the drug's own deposited structure, not a prediction, and confirms it is a structurally characterised molecule rather than an untested guess.
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helix sheet vghdrag to rotate · scroll to zoom
RCSB Protein Data Bank · entry 2YFX · 1.7 Å · ligand Crizotinib (VGH). Experimental structure, not a prediction.
What the evidence adds up to
The abstracts provided do not report any clinical trial results for a drug being repurposed in non-small cell squamous lung carcinoma. One 2017 review lists 16 FDA-approved targeted therapy drugs for non-small cell lung cancer but gives no efficacy data, survival figures, or sample sizes for any of them. A 2020 review identifies tumour mutational burden as a prognostic factor independent of stage, age, or targeted therapy effects, but it does not test a drug or report response rates. Two other abstracts concern small-cell lung cancer, not squamous non-small cell disease: one notes that median survival for relapsed small-cell lung cancer is about 5–6 months and that only topotecan is FDA-approved for that setting; the other states that overall 5-year survival in small-cell lung cancer remains about 5% despite initial chemotherapy responses. Neither abstract provides data relevant to squamous non-small cell carcinoma.
No concrete numbers on survival, response rates, or sample sizes for any drug in non-small cell squamous lung carcinoma appear in these texts. The 2016 abstract on cisplatin, etoposide, and irinotecan is limited to small-cell lung cancer and reports no outcomes for squamous histology. The 2001 review of small-cell lung cancer therapy mentions that combining standard regimens with newer agents has doubled median survival in some cases, but again this refers to small-cell disease and gives no specific figures or drug names for squamous non-small cell carcinoma.
What is still missing is any clinical trial data testing a repurposed drug specifically in non-small cell squamous lung carcinoma. The abstracts lack patient stratification by histology, do not report outcomes for squamous cell patients separately, and provide no evidence of efficacy for any drug in this population. Without dedicated trials that report response rates and survival for squamous cell carcinoma patients, no conclusions about drug repurposing can be drawn from these texts.
Evidence
Retrieved by DeepSearch across 234,678,978 indexed works and resolved on OpenAlex — ranked by citations, including the results that did not work.
Oncology Letters · 2020 · 22 citations · open access
Novel prognostic molecular markers in lung cancer (Review)
AbstractLung carcinoma, especially in its most commonly diagnosed non-small cell histological form, is a challenge to diagnose and treat worldwide, due to the prognosis in patients with this type of cancer being poor and mortality rates being high. However, a number of patients with this type of lung carcinoma exhibit a longer than average overall survival. The specific molecular background of non-small-cell lung cancer that favors longer survival has not yet been determined. The aim of the current study was to review articles published in the years 2017-2018 and create a list of the most important and strongest non-conventional factors that could be used in the future assessment of the prognosis of patients with adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma of the lung who cannot undergo current targeted therapy. Analysis identified multiple prognostic factors in non-small cell lung carcinoma, including tumor mutational burden, which was revealed to be independent of the tumor stage or grade as well as other factors, including age, sex or targeted therapy effects. The selected molecular factors exhibit the potential to be used in the treatment of patients with specific problematic lung cancer, and may contribute to setting recommendations for the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of individual patients with lung cancer.
Translational Cancer Research · 2016 · 4 citations · open access
Cisplatin, etoposide, and irinotecan for relapsed small-cell lung cancer
AbstractSmall-cell lung cancer (SCLC) is one of the most chemosensitive solid tumors. Unfortunately, a majority of patients will experience relapse of their disease within 1 year of completing treatment. Median survival for patients with relapsed disease is dismal at about 5–6 months even with best available therapy. Good performance status and sensitivity to first-line chemotherapy are significant prognostic factors of survival in patients treated for relapsed SCLC (1). Therapy options for relapsed SCLC remain limited, due to poor efficacy of most chemotherapy regimens and the poor performance status of many of these patients at relapse. Currently, topotecan is the only FDA-approved agent for the treatment of relapsed SCLC based on a phase III trial that demonstrated improvement in survival and quality of life (QOL) compared to best supportive care (2).
Expert Review of Anticancer Therapy · 2001 · 4 citations
Advances in systemic therapy of small cell cancer of the lung
AbstractOver the last 20 years, progress in the therapy of small cell lung cancer has been painfully slow. Despite dramatic initial responses to chemotherapy, most patients relapse quickly with an overall 5-year survival of about 5%. Recent trials however offer some hope at changing this picture. Combining standard regimens with newer agents has doubled median survival in some cases. The use of novel targeted agents holds the promise of significantly increasing the survival in this disease, with manageable toxicity. This review outlines current treatment strategies, summarizes recent clinical trials and offers a view of what the next 5 years may hold for the treatment of small cell lung cancer.
Journal of Pulmonology and Respiratory Research · 2017 · 0 citations · open access
A decade of targeted therapy for non-small cell lung cancer
AbstractChemotherapy is one of the main treatment options for cancer. However, chemotherapeutic agents usually suffer from poor pharmaceutical properties that restrict their use. Targeted therapy drugs have been developed to specifically target changes in cancer cells that help these cells to grow. Such drugs often work when standard chemotherapeutic drugs do not, they often have less severe side effects and they are most often used for advanced cancers. The objective of this article is to give an overview about the 16 FDA-approved targeted therapy drugs to treat non-small cell lung cancer.
Acta Oncologica · 2002 · 0 citations · open access
An Update on Management of Lung Cancer
AbstractGlobally, the incidence of lung cancer continues to rise drastically in parallel with increased tobacco consumption but with wide geographic variations. Despite the enforcement of more rigid health policies in many countries, lung cancer will for many years to come be a recurrent disease which most physicians will be confronted with at regular intervals. Furthermore, variations in the management of lung cancer occur from region to region influenced by differences in traditions, knowledge, healthcare systems and available resources. In this article a brief overview is presented of the management of both non-small cell and small cell lung cancer including recent results that may have an impact on the management of this disease.
Expert Review of Anticancer Therapy · 2015 · 0 citations
Efficacy of crizotinib inhibiting specific molecular pathways in non-small-cell lung carcinoma
AbstractThe US FDA granted approval for crizotinib as the first-line treatment for patients with echinoderm microtubule-associated protein-like 4-anaplastic lymphoma kinase rearranged metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer, on November 20, 2013. Crizotinib is a customized and improved therapeutic option for patients with non-small-cell lung cancer that enhances overall survival without increasing toxicity. In the future, new targeted therapies may achieve additional indications for treating patients with lung cancer. This article summarizes data from crizotinib studies.
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.
