DeCure's autonomous Cancer AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for pulmonary mucoepidermoid carcinoma — screening already-approved drugs against its 19-gene Open Targets disease module to publish open-access research. Research is fast; the path to publication is funded in milestone stages.
Disease modulePulmonary mucoepidermoid carcinoma maps to a 19-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
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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 pulmonary mucoepidermoid 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
clathrin heavy chain (CLTC) — CLTC 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 4-nitrophenyldrag to rotate · scroll to zoom
RCSB Protein Data Bank · entry 6E4L · 1.6 Å · ligand 5-bromo-N-(4-nitrophenyl)thiophene-2-sulfonamide (HRS). Experimental structure, not a prediction.
What the evidence adds up to
In a retrospective review of 41 patients who underwent surgical resection for pulmonary mucoepidermoid carcinoma between 1991 and 2015, the median age was 61.4 years and median follow-up was 42.9 months. Sixteen patients (39.0%) relapsed, 81.3% of those within two years. The 5-year disease-free survival was 57.9% and the 5-year overall survival was 57.0%. Tumour grade did not influence either disease-free or overall survival. Independent predictors of worse disease-free and overall survival were older age, larger tumour size, pathological T3-4 status, and pathological N2 status. Among 22 patients over 65, 5-year disease-free survival was 41.4% and overall survival 41.5%; pathological T status was the only independent predictor in that subgroup.
A separate series of 9 patients treated surgically between 1993 and 2012 reported a median age of 54 years; 6 had low-grade and 3 had high-grade tumours. Two patients with advanced high-grade disease died of cancer progression. The overall 5-year survival was 72.9%. One high-grade tumour carried an EGFR exon 21 mutation. Another series of 20 patients treated from 2000 to 2018 reported an average age of 45 years, 60% male, and a 3-year survival rate of 72%; 80% were alive without disease. High-grade tumours were associated with older age, larger tumour volume, and higher Ki-67 index. TTF-1 was negative in all cases, and one high-grade tumour in a non-smoking woman had ALK rearrangement.
Across these retrospective surgical series, complete resection is consistently described as the main treatment, and survival figures vary considerably — 5-year overall survival ranges from 57% to 72.9%, and 3-year survival from 72% to roughly 80% disease-free. The role of tumour grade as a prognostic factor is contradictory: two of the three studies found it did not predict survival, while the third concluded it was a key predictor. No prospective data exist. No systemic therapy is evaluated in these abstracts. What is missing is any prospective randomised trial, any standardised molecular stratification beyond isolated EGFR and ALK findings, and any dedicated funding for a disease so rare that single-centre series accumulate only 9 to 41 patients over decades.
Evidence
Retrieved by DeepSearch across 234,678,978 indexed works and resolved on OpenAlex — ranked by citations, including the results that did not work.
PLoS ONE · 2017 · 39 citations · open access
Surgical outcomes of pulmonary mucoepidermoid carcinoma: A review of 41 cases
AbstractINTRODUCTION: Pulmonary mucoepidermoid carcinoma is a rare cancer that occurs primarily in younger patients. The prognostic factors of pulmonary mucoepidermoid carcinoma are largely undetermined, especially in elderly patients. The aim of this study was to examine the clinical characteristics and prognostic factors influencing survival after surgical resection in patients with pulmonary mucoepidermoid carcinoma and also analyze the clinical manifestations and prognostic factors in elderly patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The pathological records of 41 pulmonary mucoepidermoid carcinoma patients (mean age, 61.4 years) who underwent surgical resection at our hospital between January 1991 and July 2015 were retrospectively reviewed. Subjects >65 years of age (n = 22) were considered elderly. RESULTS: The median follow-up duration was 42.9 (interquartile range, 15.0-120.8) months. Sixteen patients (39.0%) experienced tumor relapse, including 13 patients (81.3%) within 2 years. The 5-year disease-free survival rate was 57.9%. Tumor grade did not influence disease-free survival (P = 0.286). In the multivariate analysis, age, tumor size, pathological T3-4 status, and pathological N2 status were independent predictors of disease-free survival. The 5-year overall survival rate was 57.0%. Tumor grade also did not influence overall survival (P = 0.170). Age, tumor size, pathological T status, and pathological N2 status were independent predictors of overall survival. In elderly patients, the 5-year disease-free survival and overall survival rates were 41.4% and 41.5%, respectively. Pathological T status was the only independent predictor of both disease-free survival and overall survival in elderly patients. CONCLUSIONS: Prognostic factors identified for pulmonary mucoepidermoid carcinoma in this study differ from those of previous studies. Principally, tumor grade did not influence either disease-free survival or overall survival. Age, tumor size, and pathological factors were independent predictors of disease-free survival and overall survival. In elderly patients, pathological T status was the only independent predictor of disease-free survival and overall survival.
Asian Cardiovascular and Thoracic Annals · 2016 · 30 citations
Surgical treatment of mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the lung: 20 years’ experience
AbstractBACKGROUND: Pulmonary mucoepidermoid carcinoma is a rare salivary gland-type neoplasm. We aimed to elucidate the optimal management of this rare condition by reviewing the treatment outcomes of patients at our institution with mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the lung. METHODS: We performed a retrospective review of all patients with pulmonary mucoepidermoid carcinoma who underwent surgical treatment between January 1993 and December 2012. We reviewed the patients' clinical characteristics and the therapeutic interventions undertaken. RESULTS: Nine patients were evaluated in this study, 7 of whom were female. The median age of all patients was 54 years (range 10-72 years). Six patients had tumors of a low histologic grade, and the other 3 had high-grade malignancies. Prior to surgery, 2 patients required endobronchial intervention for obstructive pneumonia. Eight patients underwent lobectomy, and one had a bilobectomy. Two patients required bronchoplasty, and one required resection of the left atrium for complete resection of the primary neoplasm. Two patients with advanced disease and high-grade tumors died due to cancer progression. The overall 5-year survival rate was 72.9%. One patient with a high-grade malignancy demonstrated exon 21 mutation of the epidermal growth factor receptor gene. CONCLUSIONS: Complete surgical resection is important for long-term survival in patients with pulmonary mucoepidermoid carcinoma. The techniques of bronchoplasty and extended resection may contribute to better surgical management of this disease. Endobronchial interventions may be considered for the management of obstructive pneumonia prior to surgery.
Research Square (Research Square) · 2020 · 0 citations · open access
Pulmonary mucoepidermoid carcinoma: Clinicopathological characteristics of 20 cases and a literature review
AbstractAbstract Background: Pulmonary mucoepidermoid carcinoma is a rare tumor of the lung. The clinicopathological characteristics of pulmonary mucoepidermoid carcinoma are not well defined due to the low incidence. This study was performed to provide more supplementary clues for the identification and understanding of pulmonary mucoepidermoid carcinoma. Methods: We reviewed the medical records since January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2018. The patients’ medical records，including age at the time of diagnosis , gender, smoking history, preoperative evaluations, operative procedures, tumor location, tumor size, tumor stage, lymph node metastasis, pathological markers, prognosis and survival information were extracted and reviewed. Categorical variables were presented as parameters and percentages. A comparison was performed between patients with high and low grade of pulmonary mucoepidermoid carcinoma. Results: 20 patients were identified and the age span is from 18 to 67 year-old with the average age is 45. Mucoepidermoid carcinomas were commonly found in men（60%）. 80% patients had clinical presentations and the positive rate of tumor markers was 78%, although no specific tumor markers were found. TTF-1 were negative in all cases. ALK rearrangement was identified in a non-smoking woman with high grade pulmonary mucoepidermoid carcinoma. Surgery is the main procedure. 3-year survival rate is 72% and 80% patients achieved disease-free alive. High-grade patients tend to harbor older age (p=0.035), larger tumor volume (p=0.026) and higher index of ki-67(p=0.0005). Conclusions: Pulmonary mucoepidermoid carcinoma could occur in a wide age span. Early diagnosis and complete surgical resection may promise a good prognosis. Grading is a key factor to predict the overall survival time. Combined TTF-1 and MAML2 will benefit the identification of pulmonary mucoepidermoid carcinoma from other lung tumors. Future prospective randomized controlled trials and larger, multi-centric series are needed.
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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