DeCure's autonomous Cancer AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for small intestine cancer — screening already-approved drugs against its 3-gene Open Targets disease module to publish open-access research. Research is fast; the path to publication is funded in milestone stages.
Disease moduleSmall intestine cancer maps to a 3-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 small intestine cancer 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
FERM domain containing kindlin 2 (FERMT2) — FERMT2 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 srtdrag to rotate · scroll to zoom
RCSB Protein Data Bank · entry 4F7H · 1.9 Å · ligand S,R MESO-TARTARIC ACID (SRT). Experimental structure, not a prediction.
What the evidence adds up to
Small intestine cancer is rare, and its incidence has risen considerably over recent decades, driven primarily by a more than four-fold increase in carcinoid tumours, which became the most common subtype by 2004. An analysis of 67,843 patients from US databases covering 1973 to 2005 found that five-year survival after surgical resection did not improve for any histologic subtype over that period, even after adjusting for changes in patient demographics, tumour characteristics, and treatment approaches. A separate retrospective study of 38,894 patients diagnosed between 2000 and 2020 reported that only 13.01% of patients died from small intestine cancer itself; the median survival time was 37 months, with males surviving longer than females. Small tumours under 3 cm and low-grade malignancies carried a better prognosis, while larger tumours and higher-grade cancers did worse.
Surgery had a significant positive impact on survival in the 2000–2020 cohort, but the efficacy of radiotherapy and chemotherapy was described as limited. A 2012 review noted that the overall five-year survival for all patients is about 30%, with a median survival of 19 months. Adjuvant chemotherapy after surgical resection might improve disease-free survival, but overall survival was not obviously improved; patients with advanced stage or regional lymph node metastasis may obtain some benefit. For advanced disease, palliative chemotherapy could improve progression-free and overall survival, and the FOLFOX regimen (5-fluorouracil, calcium folinate, and oxaliplatin) was reported to have better therapeutic effect than other regimens. The same review stated that molecular targeted therapy for small intestine cancer was still in the study process.
The 2008 analysis concluded that survival had remained unchanged over twenty years and that novel therapeutic options need to be investigated. The 2024 study confirmed that over two decades, the impact of radiotherapy and chemotherapy on survival was limited. What remains missing are prospective trials designed specifically for small intestine cancer, adequate funding to move molecular targeted therapies from the study phase into clinical testing, and better patient stratification by tumour subtype, grade, and stage to identify who might benefit from existing or experimental treatments.
Evidence
Retrieved by DeepSearch across 234,678,978 indexed works and resolved on OpenAlex — ranked by citations, including the results that did not work.
Annals of Surgery · 2008 · 689 citations
Small Bowel Cancer in the United States
AbstractBACKGROUND: Previous studies have shown an increasing incidence of small bowel tumors in the United States. Our objective was to assess this increase by examining changes in histology-specific incidence, treatment, and survival. METHODS: Patients with small bowel malignancies were identified from the National Cancer Data Base (NCDB, 1985-2005) and the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER, 1973-2004) database. Age-adjusted incidence rates were calculated using SEER. Treatment and survival trends over time were examined using the National Cancer Data Base. Regression models were developed to assess survival over time. RESULTS: Sixty-seven thousand eight hundred forty-three patients were identified with small bowel malignancies: 37.4% carcinoid, 36.9% adenocarcinomas, 8.4% stromal tumors, and 17.3% lymphomas. From 1973 to 2004, the incidence of carcinoid tumors increased more than 4-fold (2.1 to 9.3 per million), whereas changes in adenocarcinomas, stromal tumors, and lymphomas were less pronounced. From 1985 to 2005, utilization of surgery increased significantly for carcinoid tumors from 78.8% to 87.4% (P < 0.0001). Adjuvant chemotherapy utilization for adenocarcinoma increased from 8.1% in 1985 to 23.8% in 2005 (P < 0.0001). Treatment over time was generally unchanged for lymphoma and stromal tumors. Five-year survival after resection remained unchanged over time for all histologic subtypes even after adjusting for changes in patient demographics, tumor characteristics, and treatment approaches. CONCLUSIONS: The overall incidence of small intestine malignancies has increased considerably, primarily because of carcinoid tumors which are now the most common small bowel cancer. With current treatments, survival has remained relatively unchanged over the last 20 years. Novel therapeutic options need to be investigated.
Journal of Medicine Surgery and Public Health · 2024 · 4 citations · open access
Understanding mortality patterns and survival outcomes in small intestine cancer: Insights from a retrospective analysis of the SEER database
AbstractSmall intestine cancer, a rare malignancy originating in the small intestine, has seen an increased incidence in developed regions over the last five decades. This study explores how demographic variables, treatment modalities, tumor size, and grade impact survival in patients with small intestine cancer and compares their influence relative to other causes of death. We examined data from 38,894 patients diagnosed with small intestine cancer between 2000 and 2020, sourced from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Result (SEER) database. Patients were categorized into three distinct subgroups to investigate the impact of these factors on patient outcomes: (I) Patients A live During the Study Period (II) Patients Deceased Due to Small Intestinal Cancer (III) Patients Deceased Due to Other Causes. Kaplan-Meier curves and a Cox proportional hazards model were used to assess the relationships between these factors and survival outcomes. Results indicate that 13.01% of patients succumbed to small intestine cancer with most being white (approximately 71%) and aged 65 to 69 years. Males had a higher likelihood of survival than females with median survival time of 37 months. Also, the tumor characteristics played a pivotal role in determining the prognosis. Small tumors (<3 cm) and low-grade malignancies showed a better prognosis compared to larger tumors (>3 cm) and higher-grade cancers. While, Surgery had a significant positive impact on survival (p < 0.05), the efficacy of radiotherapy and chemotherapy was limited. This study reveals the complex interplay of factors affecting survival in small intestine cancer patients over two decades.
Chemotherapy and molecular targeted therapy for small intestine cancer
AbstractNeoplasms of the small intestine have no specific features at early stage,and the prognosis is poor.The 5-year survival rate of all the patients is about 30％ and the middle survival time is 19 months.The retrospective analysis shows that adjuvant chemotherapy after surgical resection might improve the disease free survival while the overall survival is not improved obviously.The patients who are at advanced stage or have regional lymph node metastasis may obtain benefits from adjuvant chemotherapy.Palliative chemotherapy may improve progress free survival and overall survival of patients who are at advanced stage.The therapeutic effect of patients at advanced stage using FOLFOX regimen ( 5-fluorouracil,calcium folinate and oxaliplatin ) is better compared with other regimens.The molecular targeted therapy of small intestine cancer is still in the study process and advanced studies are also needed for chemotherapy.
Key words:
Intestinal neoplasms; Drug therapy; Molecular targeted therapy
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.
