DeCure's autonomous Cancer AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for Parathyroid Gland Carcinoma — screening already-approved drugs against its 42-gene Open Targets disease module to publish open-access research. Research is fast; the path to publication is funded in milestone stages.
Disease moduleParathyroid Gland Carcinoma maps to a 42-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 parathyroid gland carcinoma 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
mitogen-activated protein kinase 1 (MAPK1) — MAPK1 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 2~{s}drag to rotate · scroll to zoom
RCSB Protein Data Bank · entry 8AOJ · 1.12 Å · ligand 1-[(2~{S})-2-(5-methyl-3-pyridin-4-yl-1~{H}-pyrazol-4-yl)pyrrolidin-1-yl]propan-1-one (N8L). Experimental structure, not a prediction.
What the evidence adds up to
Parathyroid carcinoma accounts for less than 1% to 5% of patients with primary hyperparathyroidism. The disease is often symptomatic, presents with markedly elevated calcium levels and palpable masses, and occurs about ten years younger than benign parathyroid disease, with equal sex distribution. Diagnosis is frequently not made before surgery, only suspected during the operation, and confirmed afterwards on histology, though histological diagnosis is not always straightforward. Surgery — specifically en-bloc resection — remains the only curative treatment; cervical radiotherapy can be discussed. Good prognostic factors are complete monobloc tumour resection, while bad prognostic factors include lymph node metastases at diagnosis, distant metastases, and nonsecreting carcinomas.
Most patients with parathyroid carcinoma will develop local recurrence or metastases, leading to a poor prognosis. For unresectable disease, medical management is the mainstay, but its therapeutic outcome remains unsatisfactory, restricted by limited options and efficacy. In a 1984 catheter-based attempt to obliterate parathyroid tumours, two mediastinal tumours were defunctionalised with alcohol injection, and follow-up at 11 and 13 months showed success. One cervical tumour over-injected with contrast medium recurred after 14 months, indicated by rising serum calcium and parathormone levels. The authors noted the method might be an alternative to surgery in selected cases, particularly after unsuccessful prior surgery or in patients with high operative risk.
More recently, calcimimetics and receptor activator for nuclear factor-κB ligand inhibitors have been used in endocrine therapy aimed at controlling hypercalcaemia. Preliminary studies have reported therapeutic effects of targeted therapy and immunotherapy on parathyroid carcinoma, but their clinical efficacy remains to be determined. No controlled trial data, no survival or response rate numbers, and no sample sizes beyond single cases or small series are available in these reports.
What is still missing are prospective clinical trials, adequate funding for a disease this rare, reliable biomarkers to stratify patients, and any drug regimen with proven survival benefit. The evidence base remains limited to case reports, small retrospective series, and expert opinion.
Evidence
Retrieved by DeepSearch across 234,678,978 indexed works and resolved on OpenAlex — ranked by citations, including the results that did not work.
RöFo - Fortschritte auf dem Gebiet der Röntgenstrahlen und der bildgebenden Verfahren · 1984 · 13 citations
Perkutane Transkatheterausschaltung von Epithelkörperchentumoren durch Alkoholinjektion und Kontrastmittelüberflutung
AbstractAn attempt to obliterate the parathyroid glands by a catheter technique has been made in three patients with primary hyperparathyroidism. Two mediastinal tumours were defunctionalized with alcohol, and followup for 11 and 13 months showed that it had been successful. One cervical parathyroid tumour was over-injected with contrast medium, but there was a recurrence after 14 months, as indicated by rising serum calcium and parathormone levels. In selected cases the method may be an alternative to surgery, particularly in patients where previous surgery had been unsuccessful or if there is a high operative risk.
AbstractParathyroid carcinoma is a rare entity, representing less than 1% to 5% of patients with primary hyperparathyroidism. Parathyroid carcinomas are often symptomatic, have markedly elevated calcium levels, have palpable masses, are equally distributed between the sexes, and present 10 years younger than their benign counterparts. Parathyroid carcinoma is often undiagnosed preoperatively, suspected intraoperatively, and only confirmed postoperatively. When diagnosed, the treatment of choice is an en-bloc resection of the tumor.
Case Reports in Surgery · 2020 · 4 citations · open access
Hypercalcemia of Malignancy Revealing a Parathyroid Carcinoma with Hepatic Metastasis: A Case Report and Literature Review
AbstractParathyroid carcinoma is a very rare malignant tumor of the parathyroid gland. This cancer poses a great diagnostic and therapeutic difficulty due to its rarity and the absence of a characteristic clinical and paraclinical picture. The diagnosis is histological but is not always easy. Surgery remains the only curative treatment, and cervical radiotherapy can be discussed. Good prognostic factors are complete monobloc tumor resection, and bad prognostic factors are the presence of lymph node metastases at diagnosis, distant metastases, and nonsecreting carcinomas.
[Update on the medical management of parathyroid carcinoma].
AbstractParathyroid carcinoma is a rare endocrine malignancy with an increasing rate of incidence. Most parathyroid carcinoma patients will develop local recurrence or metastases leading to poor prognosis. Medical management is the mainstay of treatment for patients with unresectable parathyroid carcinoma. However, the therapeutic outcome of medical management remains unsatisfactory restricted by limited options and efficacy. With the deepening of research, several novel drugs have been reported to be applied in the treatment of parathyroid carcinoma. Calcimimetics and receptor activator for nuclear factor-κB ligand inhibitors aiming to control hypercalcemia have been applied in the endocrine therapy of parathyroid carcinoma. Besides, preliminary studies have shown the therapeutic effects of targeted therapy and immunotherapy on parathyroid carcinoma. These new drugs have shed light on this clinical dilemma; however, their clinical efficacy remains to be determined. In this article, the recent progress in the medical management of parathyroid carcinoma is updated.
Greater South Information System · 2020 · 0 citations · open access
Hypercalcemia of Malignancy Revealing a Parathyroid Carcinoma with Hepatic Metastasis: A Case Report and Literature Review
AbstractParathyroid carcinoma is a very rare malignant tumor of the parathyroid gland. This cancer poses a great diagnostic and therapeutic difficulty due to its rarity and the absence of a characteristic clinical and paraclinical picture. The diagnosis is histological but is not always easy. Surgery remains the only curative treatment, and cervical radiotherapy can be discussed. Good prognostic factors are complete monobloc tumor resection, and bad prognostic factors are the presence of lymph node metastases at diagnosis, distant metastases, and nonsecreting carcinomas.
AbstractProblem Management of parathyroid carcinoma. Methods 2 cases of parathyroid carcinoma managed in Brest Hospital, Ear, Nose and Throat Service (France). Results Through a review of the literature we discuss the initial surgical treatment for this rare tumor, which has a strong potential of local recurrence or metastasis (fifty percent). Conclusion The treatment of the parathyroid carcinoma is surgical. It requires a total ablation of the parathyroid tumor, of the homolateral thyroid lobe, of the homolateral recurrent nodular tissues and of sticking tissues. Significance A large ablation is required.
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.
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