DeCure's autonomous Cancer AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for smooth muscle tumor — 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 moduleSmooth muscle tumor 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
Current lead
No approved-drug candidate for smooth muscle tumor 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
menin 1 (MEN1) — MEN1 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 1r,2s,4rdrag to rotate · scroll to zoom
RCSB Protein Data Bank · entry 8IG0 · 2.6 Å · ligand (1R,2S,4R)-4-[[4-(5,6-dimethoxypyridazin-3-yl)phenyl]methylamino]-2-[methyl-[6-[2,2,2-tris(fluoranyl)ethyl]thieno[2,3-d]pyrimidin-4-yl]amino]cyclopentan-1-ol (7IX). Experimental structure, not a prediction.
What the evidence adds up to
Smooth muscle tumours are rare neoplasms classified as hamartomas, benign tumours (leiomyomas), or malignant tumours (leiomyosarcomas). They arise from tissues with normal smooth muscle components, including arrector pili muscle, vascular smooth muscle, and specialised genital smooth muscle. A 1996 review notes that cutaneous leiomyosarcomas frequently recur after excision but rarely metastasise, whereas subcutaneous leiomyosarcomas also frequently recur and have a high metastatic rate. The same review reports an increased frequency of visceral leiomyosarcomas in immunosuppressed patients, with those tumours containing Epstein-Barr virus. A 2018 review confirms that accurate diagnosis and classification of cutaneous smooth muscle proliferations is important because they can exhibit a range of clinical behaviour and may be associated with underlying syndromes.
A 1997 pilot study examined γ-smooth muscle isoactin gene expression by polymerase chain reaction in a variety of smooth muscle tumours. A lack of γ-smooth muscle isoactin gene expression correlated 100% with a pathologic diagnosis of sarcoma. The authors concluded that this gene expression represents a unique molecular marker of oncogenic transformation and a valuable molecular adjunct to diagnosis. No other molecular markers or drug targets are discussed in these abstracts.
Treatment recommendations are limited to surgical excision. For solitary leiomyomas, treatment for cosmesis or pain is not a problem, but multiple leiomyomas that are painful or sensitive to cold or touch are a therapeutic challenge, with reports of multiple medications attempted but none specified. For leiomyosarcoma, treatment is wide excision. A 1996 case report of a temporal muscle haemangioma (a benign vascular tumour, not a smooth muscle tumour) describes total excision with no recurrence at two years. No drug therapies, response rates, survival data, or clinical trial results are provided in any of these abstracts.
What is missing: no clinical trials of any drug for smooth muscle tumours are reported; no systemic therapies for unresectable or metastatic disease are described; no patient stratification by molecular markers beyond the pilot isoactin study is available; and no funding for prospective studies or drug-repurposing investigations is mentioned.
Evidence
Retrieved by DeepSearch across 234,678,978 indexed works and resolved on OpenAlex — ranked by citations, including the results that did not work.
Dermatologic Surgery · 1996 · 71 citations
Tumors with Smooth Muscle Differentiation
AbstractBACKGROUND: In the classification of tumors of soft tissue, modern schemes describe tumors by the normal adult tissue type the tumor resembles. Thus, tumors are described as smooth muscle tumors if the cells are differentiating towards smooth muscle. We may infer that in fact the tumor arose from smooth muscle, but this is only an inference. Tumors showing differentiation towards smooth muscle include hamartomas, benign tumors, and malignant tumors. OBJECTIVE: This review article describes the clinical presentation and course, histology, and treatment recommendations for benign and malignant smooth muscle tumors. METHODS: An extensive literature review of tumors with differentiation towards smooth muscle. RESULTS: Benign tumors exhibiting differentiation towards smooth muscle include smooth muscle hamartoma and leiomyoma. Myofibroma is a third tumor that some have argued is a smooth muscle tumor rather than a fibroblastic tumor. Characteristic fusiform shaped cells with a round central nucleus arranged in fasicles suggest smooth muscle differentiation. Special stains such as phosphotungenistic acid-hemotoxilin, analine blue, and Masson's trichrome are helpful in differentiating muscle from collagen. Immunohistochemical stains are also helpful in establishing a diagnosis. With solitary tumors, treatment for cosmesis or for painful leiomyomas is not a problem. Multiple leiomyomas, which may be painful or sensitive to cold or touch, are a therapeutic challenge, with reports of multiple medications being attempted in the literature. Leiomyosarcoma are malignant tumors of smooth muscle. They may be cutaneous and presumably arise from the arrector pilorum muscle, or subcutaneous, where they are believed to arise from vascular smooth muscle. Cutaneous leiomyosarcomas frequently reoccur following excision, but rarely metastasize. Subcutaneous leiomyosarcomas frequently reoccur following excision and have a high metastatic rate. Several recent reports have documented an increased frequency of visceral leiomyosarcomas in immunosuppressed patients. These tumors have been found to contain the Epstein Barr virus. Treatment of leiomyosarcoma is wide excision. CONCLUSIONS: Smooth muscle tumors are rare neoplasms that may confront the dermatologic surgeon. While leiomyomas are benign, their frequent sensitivity or pain necessitates treatment. Leiomyosarcomas are malignancies with a high reoccurrence rate, and when deep, a high metastatic rate. The finding of an increased frequency of visceral leiomyomas and leiomyosarcomas in immunosuppressed patients may imply an increased frequency of cutaneous leiomyomas and leiomyosarcomas in this patient population.
Journal of Cutaneous Pathology · 2002 · 26 citations
h‐Caldesmon as a specific marker of smooth muscle cell differentiation in some soft tissue tumors of the skin
AbstractBACKGROUND: An existing problem in contemporary pathology is the classification and distinction of spindle cell soft tissue tumors of the skin. Markers such as alpha-smooth muscle actin (alpha-SMA) and desmin, considered specific for smooth muscle cell (SMC), have been shown to be expressed in a variety of fibroblastic and myofibroblastic processes. High-molecular-weight caldesmon (h-caldesmon), one of two isoforms, is reported to be expressed exclusively by SMC and has recently been shown to be a specific marker of SMC tumors. METHODS: Tumors were obtained from 11 patients taken from the surgical pathology archives of the University of South Florida and cases were coded as smooth muscle hamartoma, myofibroma, and dermatomyofibroma. RESULTS: The case of smooth muscle hamartoma had greater than 90% of tumor cells labeling with anti-h-caldesmon antibodies. Three of three cases of myofibroma had focal areas of positivity representing less than 10% of total tumor cells. Seven of seven dermatomyofibromas showed no apparent labeling with anti-h-caldesmon antibody. Dense reactivity was noted in vascular wall smooth muscle, indicating internal controls. CONCLUSIONS: We can conclude that h-caldesmon is a specific marker of fully differentiated smooth muscle and that it can serve to differentiate spindled SMC soft tissue tumors of the skin from tumors of myofibroblastic and/or fibroblastic origin.
Cambridge University Press eBooks · 2010 · 21 citations
SMOOTH MUSCLE TUMORS
AbstractSmooth muscle tumors almost invariably arise from tissues with normal smooth muscle components, consistent with their probable origin from the stem cell–like, replication-capable pool of the local smooth muscle cells. This pool can be differently represented in various smooth muscle elements, reflecting variance in the incidence of smooth muscle tumors at different body sites. The nearly ubiquitous presence of vascular smooth muscle explains the origin of smooth muscle tumors at a wide variety of sites.
AbstractBACKGROUND: Hemangiomas are benign vascular tumors. Because less than 1% of all hemangiomas are intramuscular, only 8 cases of temporal muscle hemangioma have been described to date. This is a case study of a 13-year-old girl who was referred to our institution because of a soft swelling located in the left temple that has enlarged progressively since birth. METHODS: CT scan, angiography and MRI showed a tumor mass lying in the temporal muscle, with homogeneous contrast enhancement. No tumor blush or feeding arteries were detected. At surgical exploration, the tumor appeared to be well demarcated. It was totally excised, sparing the surrounding temporal muscle, which did not present any sign of infiltration. Histopathologic examination showed the lesion to be a cavernous hemangioma. RESULTS: The cosmetic result was excellent, and MRI after 1 month and 2 years showed complete absence of the lesion and no evidence of recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: Although this type of tumor may be treated by various methods surgical excision yields the best results in the short and the long term. The surrounding tissue is spared as much as possible when no signs of infiltration are noted at operation, especially when involving small and functionally important muscles, as in our case.
Advances in Anatomic Pathology · 2018 · 6 citations
Cutaneous Smooth Muscle Tumors: A Review
AbstractSmooth muscle tumors occur infrequently in the skin. They consist of a diverse group of lesions representing hamartomas as well as benign and malignant neoplasms. They may arise from arrector pili muscle, specialized smooth muscle of the genitalia, or vascular smooth muscle. Although rare, accurate diagnosis and classification of cutaneous smooth muscle proliferations is important as they can exhibit a range of clinical behavior and may be associated with underlying syndromes. This review summarizes the clinicopathologic spectrum of smooth muscle tumors involving the skin.
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.
