DeCure's autonomous Cancer AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for teratoma — screening already-approved drugs against its 26-gene Open Targets disease module to publish open-access research. Research is fast; the path to publication is funded in milestone stages.
Disease moduleTeratoma maps to a 26-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 teratoma 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
endothelial PAS domain protein 1 (EPAS1) — EPAS1 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 furan-2-ylmethyldrag to rotate · scroll to zoom
RCSB Protein Data Bank · entry 3H82 · 1.5 Å · ligand N-(furan-2-ylmethyl)-2-nitro-4-(trifluoromethyl)aniline (020). Experimental structure, not a prediction.
What the evidence adds up to
In a series of 113 patients who underwent laparotomy for residual retroperitoneal masses after chemotherapy for disseminated nonseminomatous testicular germ cell tumours, mature teratoma was found in 51 (45.1%). Nine of those 51 patients (17.6%) relapsed: five with growing mature teratoma, three with secondary non-germ cell malignancy, and one with recurrent germ cell malignancy. All five patients with growing mature teratoma were alive without disease after surgical excision, as was the patient with recurrent germ cell malignancy. One of the three patients with non-germ cell malignancy died of disease; the other two were alive with disease. The authors concluded that long-term follow-up after resection of postchemotherapy residual teratoma is indicated.
Growing teratoma syndrome is an uncommon complication of malignant germ cell cancer, characterised by large tumours that develop during or after chemotherapy despite normalised tumour markers and contain only mature teratoma. A case report of a 15-year-old girl with growing teratoma was presented, and the authors noted that little data are available on its pathogenesis, common sites, diagnosis, natural course, treatment, and prognosis.
In a paediatric series of 67 patients with teratomas treated over ten years, 49 were girls and 18 were boys. The most common site was sacrococcygeal (32 patients), followed by ovarian (12), retroperitoneal (9), testicular (5), cervical (4), nasopharyngeal (2), and mediastinal (2). All patients underwent surgery, with total resection in 63 (94%). Twenty-eight patients (42%) received chemotherapy. At follow-up, 52 patients (77%) were in complete remission, 8 (12%) had died, and 4 were lost to follow-up. The authors noted that sacrococcygeal teratomas are the most common and are mostly benign, but the risk of malignant transformation increases with age.
Among 13 patients with malignant transformation of teratoma to primitive neuroectodermal tumour (PNET) who had complete surgical resection of metastatic disease to no evidence of disease (NED) status, all received adjuvant chemotherapy: 11 with cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, and vincristine alternating with ifosfamide and etoposide (CAV/IE) and 2 with etoposide, ifosfamide, and cisplatin (VIP). Of the 11 CAV/IE patients, 3 received fewer than 4 cycles due to toxicity and 8 completed 4 cycles. With a median follow-up of 16.3 months, 3 of 13 patients (23%) relapsed and 10 (77%) remained continuously disease free. Median time to relapse was 9.3 months; of those who relapsed, 2 were alive with disease and 1 died of disease progression. The authors concluded that adjuvant CAV/IE improves outcomes compared with historically high relapse rates with surveillance alone, but the sample is small, follow-up is short, and no randomised comparison exists. What is still missing is a prospective trial with sufficient power, longer follow-up, and clear stratification by histology and extent of resection.
Evidence
Retrieved by DeepSearch across 234,678,978 indexed works and resolved on OpenAlex — ranked by citations, including the results that did not work.
Journal of Clinical Oncology · 2008 · 161 citations · open access
Mature and Immature Extracranial Teratomas in Children: The UK Children's Cancer Study Group Experience
AbstractPURPOSE: The purpose of this article is to describe the features, treatment, and risk factors for relapse of children with mature teratoma (MT) and immature teratoma (IT) to assist future treatment plans. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients were younger than 16 years of age and referred to the UK Children's Cancer Study Group centers with biopsy-proven extracranial MT and IT and no prior chemotherapy. Complete excision, with the coccyx in sacrococcygeal patients, and follow-up, including serum alpha-fetoprotein monitoring for early detection of malignant yolk sac tumor (YST) recurrence, were recommended. Carboplatin, etoposide, and bleomycin (JEB) were given for YST relapse, whereas relapsed MT and IT were treated at clinicians' discretion, usually surgically. Pathology was reviewed and treatments, outcome, and prognostic features assessed. RESULTS: There were 351 patients, 227 with MT, 124 with IT. Tumor sites were: testis (n = 53), ovary (n = 130), sacrococcygeal region (n = 98), thorax (n = 23), and other (n = 47). Surgical resection was incomplete in 26% of MT and 40% of IT patients; 5-year event-free survival was 92.2% and 85.9%, respectively, and 5-year overall survival was 99% and 95.1%. Poorer outcome occurred with incomplete resection, tumor rupture, nongonadal site (particularly sacrococcygeal), young age, higher stage and grade, and gliomatosis peritonei, but not with cyst fluid aspiration/spillage, tumor enucleation, nodal gliomatosis, or microfoci of YST in the tumor (Heifetz lesions). JEB was effective for YST recurrence, but not for MT or IT. CONCLUSION: Treatment remains primarily surgical, with JEB chemotherapy for YST relapse. No definite response followed JEB for pure MT and IT. Adjuvant chemotherapy after surgery for sacrococcygeal patients is not advocated.
Mature teratoma identified after postchemotherapy surgery in patients with disseminated nonseminomatous testicular germ cell tumors
AbstractBACKGROUND: Mature teratoma is often found in resected retroperitoneal residual tumor masses (RRTM) after chemotherapy for disseminated nonseminomatous testicular germ cell tumors (NSTGCT). The aim of this report is to describe the clinical course of patients after resection of residual teratoma, with particular emphasis on relapse with either growing mature teratoma or secondary non-germ cell malignancy. METHODS: During the period 1979-1995, 113 patients underwent a laparotomy for resection of RRTM after chemotherapy for NSTGCT. Only patients with mature teratoma in the RRTM were included in the current study, and data on the patients who experienced relapse were studied in detail. RESULTS: Mature teratoma was found in 51 patients (45.1%) with RRTM resected after chemotherapy. Nine of these 51 patients (17.6%) relapsed; the relapses resulted from growing mature teratoma in 5 patients (9.8%), secondary non-germ cell malignancy in 3 patients (5.9%), and recurrent germ cell malignancy in 1 patient (2.0%). The primary treatment for all relapsing patients was surgical excision. All five patients with growing mature teratoma are alive without evidence of disease, as is the patient with recurrent germ cell malignancy. One of the three patients with non-germ cell malignancy died of disease, and the remaining two are alive with disease. CONCLUSIONS: Long term follow-up after resection of postchemotherapy residual teratoma is indicated because a proportion of patients develop growing mature teratoma or a secondary non-germ cell malignancy. The treatment for these recurrences should be complete surgical excision.
Journal of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology · 2006 · 9 citations
Teratoma in an Adolescent With Malignant Transformation into Embryonal Rhabdomyosarcoma
AbstractBACKGROUND: The somatic type tumors are occasionally found in nonseminomatous germ cell tumors in men. These malignancies are presumed to arise from malignant transformation (MT) of teratoma or by differentiation of totipotential germ cell. OBSERVATION: A case of MT of germ cell tumor in 17-year-old male into embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma is described. The histopathologic diagnosis was that of embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma in which no germ cell elements were found. The germ cell origin of transformed histology is supported by cytogenetic analysis (isochromosome 12p), and elevated alpha(1)-fetoprotein. Despite intensive therapy the patient died. CONCLUSIONS: MT of teratoma is rare entity with poor prognosis.
Clinical and Experimental Obstetrics & Gynecology · 2016 · 3 citations · open access
Growing teratoma syndrome after ovarian inmature teratoma: a case report and review of the literature
AbstractGrowing teratoma syndrome is an uncommon complication of malignant germ cell cancer, characterised by the development of large tumours during or after chemotherapy, despite normalisation of tumour marker levels and metastasis, which contain only mature teratoma. Given its low incidence, little is data available. The authors present the case of a 15-year-old girl with a growing teratoma and the literature review outlines the current knowledge of its pathogenesis, common sites, diagnosis, natural course, treatment, and prognosis.
DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · 2016 · 2 citations
Teratoma in Infants and Children
AbstractBackground: Teratomas arise from three germ cell layers, the ectoderm, endoderm and mesoderm1, 2, and have several degrees of differentiation. We report our experience with teratomas at a tertiary pediatric surgery center.\n\nPatients and Methods: The hospital records of all patients with the pathological diagnosis of teratoma treated during 10 years between 2004 and 2014 were reviewed and the following information was obtained: Sex, site of tumor, treatment and outcome.\n\nResults: Sixty seven patients consisting of 49 girls (73%) and 18 boys (27%) were treated with teratomas at various sites of the body. These included: sacrococcygeal (SC) 32 patients (27 females& 5 males), ovarian 12 cases, cervical 4 patients (1 females & 3 males), retroperitoneal 9 (5 females & 4 males), Nasopharyngeal 2 patients both of which were females, mediastinal 2 cases (1 female & 1 male) and 5 testicular teratoma patients. All patients underwent surgery, and the most common procedure was total resection in 63(94%) of patients. Twenty eight (42%) received chemotherapy. In follow-up 52(77%) patients were in complete remission, 8(12%) had died, and 4 cases did not attend follow-up visits.\n\nConclusions: Teratomas are a group of tumors with similar histological picture but different behaviors. Sacrococcygeal teratomas are the commonest and the majorities are benign but the risk of malignant transformation increases with age. Management of teratomas is a combination of surgery and chemotherapy which may lead patients to a better prognosis.
Adjuvant chemotherapy with CAV/IE for malignant transformation of teratoma to primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET): An institutional analysis from Indiana University.
Abstract5026 Background: Malignant transformation of teratoma to PNET has an aggressive disease biology and generally poor outcomes when metastasis occurs. The optimal management of patients (pts) with PNET who have complete surgical extirpation is unknown. Most pts who are monitored with surveillance will relapse. We report results from pts with metastatic PNET who had complete surgical resection to NED status followed by adjuvant chemotherapy, most commonly cyclophosphamide + doxorubicin + vincristine alternating with ifosfamide + etoposide (CAV/IE) for 4 cycles. Methods: We reviewed records for pts with histologically confirmed malignant transformation of teratoma at Indiana University from 1990 to 2020. We identified 13 pts with PNET who underwent resection of metastatic disease to NED status followed by treatment with adjuvant chemotherapy, most commonly CAV/IE comprising of cyclophosphamide (1200 mg/m2), doxorubicin (75 mg/m2), and vincristine (2 mg/m2) alternating with ifosfamide (1.8 g/m2) plus etoposide (100 mg/m2). Treatment was delivered every 3 weeks for 4 cycles or until unacceptable toxicity. Results: Thirteen pts with metastatic PNET resected to NED status and received adjuvant chemotherapy were identified. Median age at diagnosis was 29 (range, 20 to 55). Primary tumor site was testis in 11 pts, retroperitoneum in 1 pt, and mediastinum in 1 pt. Metastasis site was retroperitoneal lymph nodes in 11 pts, mediastinal lymph nodes in 1 pt, and local mediastinal recurrence in 1 pt. After resection to NED status, all 13 pts were treated with adjuvant chemotherapy: 11 pts were treated with CAV/IE and 2 received etoposide-ifosfamide-cisplatin (VIP) x 2. Among the 11 pts who received CAV/IE: 3 pts received < 4 cycles due to toxicity and 8 completed 4 cycles. With a median follow-up of 16.3 months, 3 of 13 pts relapsed (23%) and 10 of 13 remained continuously disease free (77%). Of those who relapsed, median time to relapse was 9.3 months, 2 remained alive with disease at follow up and one patient died of disease progression. Conclusions: Adjuvant CAV/IE improves the outcomes of pts with malignant transformation of teratoma to PNET and who had resection of metastasis to NED status. Most pts who received adjuvant therapy remain continuously disease-free in comparison to historically high relapse rates in pts with resected PNET monitored with surveillance.
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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