DeCure's autonomous Cancer AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for Ocular Melanoma — screening already-approved drugs against its 11-gene Open Targets disease module to publish open-access research. Research is fast; the path to publication is funded in milestone stages.
Disease moduleOcular Melanoma maps to a 11-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 ocular melanoma 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
NRAS proto-oncogene, GTPase (NRAS) — NRAS 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 gdpdrag to rotate · scroll to zoom
RCSB Protein Data Bank · entry 6ZIO · 1.55 Å · ligand GUANOSINE-5'-DIPHOSPHATE (GDP). Experimental structure, not a prediction.
What the evidence adds up to
The Collaborative Ocular Melanoma Study confirmed no survival advantage of enucleation over plaque radiotherapy for posterior uveal melanoma. In a London series of 597 patients receiving radiation therapy, overall ocular survival was 94%, with a mean loss of visual acuity of 2.4 Snellen lines in preserved eyes. A 2025 study of fellow eyes after plaque radiotherapy, transpupillary thermotherapy, or proton beam therapy found no significant change in visual acuity up to ten years post-treatment, regardless of modality, except for a likely false positive improvement at two years after plaque radiotherapy. In affected eyes, visual acuity declined significantly after plaque radiotherapy and proton beam therapy, while transpupillary thermotherapy showed no significant change. Intraocular pressure in fellow eyes did not change, and tumour thickness, diabetes, hypertension, or coronary artery disease did not correlate with fellow eye visual acuity outcomes.
MAGE-1, MAGE-2, and MAGE-3 genes are transcribed in primary ocular melanoma cell lines, detected in 41%, 53%, and 53% of 17 patients respectively. Normal choroidal melanocytes and retinal pigment epithelial cells did not express MAGE genes. A 2023 review notes that ocular melanoma has a poor prognosis due to its special genetic profile and tumour microenvironment, and that gathering knowledge of these specificities may help identify patients with unfavourable prognosis to find more effective treatments.
Uveal melanoma accounts for 85-95% of ocular melanomas; conjunctival melanoma accounts for 5%. Uveal and conjunctival melanoma are biologically distinct from each other. A case report describes a congenital ocular melanoma in a three-year-old child managed by surgical removal of the affected eye followed by postoperative radiotherapy.
What is still missing: prospective trials that stratify patients by MAGE expression or other molecular markers, funding for studies large enough to detect meaningful survival differences between radiotherapy modalities, and any evidence that targeting MAGE antigens or other immune escape mechanisms improves survival in ocular melanoma.
Evidence
Retrieved by DeepSearch across 234,678,978 indexed works and resolved on OpenAlex — ranked by citations, including the results that did not work.
Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology · 2003 · 50 citations
Current trends in the treatment of ocular melanoma by radiotherapy
AbstractThe Collaborative Ocular Melanoma Study (COMS) has recently confirmed once and for all that it is safe to attempt to preserve an eye with a posterior uveal melanoma by demonstrating no survival advantage of enucleation over plaque radiotherapy. While COMS has been under way, we have set out in London to define the selection criteria for conservative therapy versus enucleation for the various categories of melanoma in terms of size, location within the eye, and presence or absence of retinal detachment. The evolution of this approach has culminated in an overall ocular survival rate of 94% in 597 patients following radiation therapy combined with a mean loss of visual acuity of only 2.4 Snellen lines in the eyes preserved.
Expression of MAGE Genes in Ocular Melanoma Cell Lines
AbstractThe pathobiology of melanomas that develop within the eye is distinct from melanomas that develop within the subcutaneous tissues of the skin. This may be related to the unique structural and functional differences between normal melanocytes present within the uveal tract of the eye and the epidermal layers of the skin. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether normal pigmented cells within the eye (melanocytes and retinal pigment epithelial cells) and cultured cells derived from malignant ocular melanomas express the MAGE genes that encode tumor antigens that are recognized by specific CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes. In the present series of experiments, we examined MAGE expression in cultured ocular melanoma cells obtained from a group of 17 ocular melanoma patients. Normal ocular melanocytes and retinal pigment epithelial cells were recovered and cultured from eyes enucleated for trauma. MAGE gene expression was determined using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction specific for either MAGE-1, -2, or -3. Our results demonstrate that MAGE-1, MAGE-2, and MAGE-3 genes are transcribed in primary ocular melanoma cell lines and are detected in cells recovered from 41, 53, and 53% of the patients examined, respectively. Normal choroidal melanocytes and retinal pigment epithelial cells did not express MAGE genes. We conclude that cultured ocular melanoma cell lines express MAGE-1, MAGE-2, and MAGE-3 genes.
Journal of Contemporary Brachytherapy · 2025 · 2 citations · open access
Up to ten years of visual acuity outcomes in fellow eyes post-uveal melanoma treatment with iodine-125 radiotherapy, transpupillary thermotherapy, and proton beam therapy
AbstractPurpose: I) plaque radiotherapy (PRT), transpupillary thermotherapy (TTT), or proton beam therapy (PBT). Material and methods: -tests compared changes in visual acuity (VA) and intraocular pressure (IOP) over time for affected and fellow eyes. Spearman's rho test assessed correlations between melanoma thickness and VA over time, and repeated measures ANOVA determined interactions between time and comorbidities in VA. Results: Fellow eyes VA showed no significant change up to a decade post-treatment regardless of treatment modality, except for a likely false positive improvement at 2 years post-PRT. In contrast, affected eyes had significant VA decline post-PRT and PBT, while TTT used in affected eyes demonstrated no significant change. IOP did not show any significant changes in fellow eyes. Tumor thickness and the presence of diabetes, hypertension, or coronary artery disease, did not correlate with fellow eye VA outcomes. Conclusions: I PRT, TTT, or PBT, fellow eyes remain stable regarding VA and other outcomes up to 10 years. This provides important information for treatment choice in patients with ocular melanoma, especially as VA can decline in affected eye post-treatment, leading to reliance on contralateral eye.
International Journal of Head and Neck Surgery · 2011 · 1 citations · open access
A Rare Case of Congenital Ocular Melanoma in a 3-Year-Old Child
AbstractABSTRACT Ocular melanoma in the pediatric population is extremely rare, and the congenital variety is even rarer. We present a case of a 3-year-old female child presenting with a congenital ocular melanoma with no preexisting conditions, managed by surgical removal of the affected eye followed by postoperative radiotherapy. We also discuss the various features of the condition reviewing the literature.
Health Sciences · 2023 · 0 citations · open access
Unveiling similarities and differences between cutaneous and ocular melanomas
AbstractMelanomas are outstandingly aggressive cancers, still their incidence is increasing. They can occur in the skin as cutaneous melanoma or in the eye as ocular melanoma. Their pathogenesis is generally similar; however, the prognosis of ocular melanoma patients is still poor, due to its special genetic profile and tumor microenvironment. Here we review the similarities and differences between cutaneous and ocular melanoma, with a focus on their prognostic significance, their molecular signature, and their tumor microenvironment, in order to understand the strategies adopted to escape immune response. Gathering and understanding available knowledge of melanomas and their specificities may help to identify the group of patients with the unfavorable prognosis in order to identify more effective treatments.
Journal of Clinical Research and Ophthalmology · 2016 · 0 citations · open access
Atypical Presentation of Uveal and Conjunctival Melanoma in the Anterior Segment
AbstractOcular melanoma is a rare malignancy arising from melanocytes of the uvea, the conjunctiva, and the orbit. Uveal melanoma is the most common intraocular malignancy in adults, accounting for 85-95% of ocular melanomas [1-3]. The conjunctival form accounts for 5% of ocular melanomas. Uveal and conjunctival melanoma are very distinct from each other biologically. We describe a case of conjunctival melanoma and a uveal melanoma both presenting as large masses of the anterior segment.
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.
