DeCure's autonomous Cancer AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for Thymic Carcinoma — screening already-approved drugs against its 48-gene Open Targets disease module to publish open-access research. Research is fast; the path to publication is funded in milestone stages.
Disease moduleThymic Carcinoma maps to a 48-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 thymic 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
NRAS proto-oncogene, GTPase (NRAS) — NRAS 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 gdpdrag to rotate · scroll to zoom
RCSB Protein Data Bank · entry 6ZIO · 1.55 Å · ligand GUANOSINE-5'-DIPHOSPHATE (GDP). Experimental structure, not a prediction.
What the evidence adds up to
Thymic carcinoma is an uncommon malignant tumour distinct from thymoma, with a poor prognosis due to high-grade behaviour, early metastasis, and delayed diagnosis. A 2004 case report describes a 50-year-old man who presented with a cranial metastasis and was found to have a primary thymic tumour in the anterior mediastinum along with liver metastases. He received multiple cycles of cisplatin and gemcitabine after gross total resection of the cranial lesion. The report does not provide survival or response data for that regimen.
A retrospective study of 32 patients with Masaoka stage 3 thymic carcinoma treated between 2000 and 2012 reported 5-year disease-free survival of 56.8% and overall survival of 61.5%. Complete resection (R0) was achieved in 24 of 32 patients. Incomplete resection was associated with significantly worse disease-free and overall survival on univariate analysis, but on multivariate analysis complete resection was statistically associated only with disease-free survival, not overall survival. The most common histological subtype was squamous cell carcinoma (46.8%), followed by undifferentiated carcinoma (37.5%).
A larger retrospective series of 171 patients treated between 1970 and 2014 reported a median overall survival of 64 months, with 5-year and 10-year overall survival rates of 51.5% and 22.6%, respectively. Median progression-free survival was 19 months, and the 5-year progression-free survival rate was 24.2%. Independent prognostic factors for both overall and progression-free survival were presence of symptoms, surgical resection, Masaoka-Koga stage, and radiotherapy. No drug therapy was identified as an independent prognostic factor in that analysis.
The role of neoadjuvant and postoperative chemotherapy and radiotherapy remains controversial, and additional prognostic factors are needed to risk-stratify patients. No prospective randomised trials have established a standard systemic therapy for thymic carcinoma. What is still missing are adequately powered prospective trials, reliable biomarkers for patient stratification, and funding to conduct them.
Evidence
Retrieved by DeepSearch across 234,678,978 indexed works and resolved on OpenAlex — ranked by citations, including the results that did not work.
Neurosurgery · 2004 · 22 citations
Thymic Carcinoma Presenting as Cranial Metastasis with Intradural and Extracranial Extension: Case Report
AbstractOBJECTIVE AND IMPORTANCE: Thymic carcinoma is an uncommon malignant tumor that is different from thymoma. Cranial and brain metastases from this tumor are extremely rare. We report a thymic carcinoma with cranial metastasis and discuss the behavior of this tumor. CLINICAL PRESENTATION: A 50-year-old man presented with headache and a palpable scalp tumor. Computed tomographic scans and magnetic resonance images revealed an osteolytic tumor with intradural and extracranial extension in the right occipital bone. INTERVENTION: After gross total resection and histological diagnosis, further investigation revealed a primary thymic tumor in the anterior upper mediastinum and liver metastases. The patient received multiple-cycle chemotherapy (cisplatin and gemcitabine) for primary and metastatic lesions. CONCLUSION: Thymic carcinoma has a poor prognosis because of a high degree of malignancy, early metastasis, and delayed diagnosis. Thus, treatment of a patient with this tumor calls for prompt diagnosis, surgical treatment, and optimal adjuvant therapy.
OncoTargets and Therapy · 2015 · 3 citations · open access
Treatment and prognosis of Masaoka stage 3 thymic carcinoma: a retrospective study of 32 cases
AbstractPURPOSE: The aim of this study was to investigate the treatment and prognostic factors in patients with Masaoka stage 3 thymic carcinoma. METHODS: A retrospective review was conducted of the medical records of patients with Masaoka stage 3 thymic carcinoma between 2000 and 2012 in our institution. Clinical characteristics and prognostic factors were analyzed. Survival curves were plotted using the Kaplan-Meier method. The Cox proportional hazard model was used for multivariate analysis. RESULTS: Thirty-two patients with Masaoka stage 3 thymic carcinoma, operated on in Zhejiang Cancer Hospital, were identified between 2000 and 2012. Among 32 patients, 24 achieved R0 resection. The most common histological subtypes were squamous cell carcinoma (n=15, 46.8%), followed by undifferentiated carcinoma (n=12, 37.5%), and other tumors (n=5, 15.7%). The 5-year disease-free survival and overall survival rates were 56.8% and 61.5%, respectively. Patients with incomplete resection had a significantly worse disease-free survival and overall survival as compared to complete resection with univariate analyses (P-value 0.006 and 0.034, respectively). Multivariate analysis revealed that complete resection was statistically associated with disease-free survival but not overall survival (P-value 0.025 and 0.076, respectively). CONCLUSION: Our results indicated that complete resection could impact the disease-free survival of patients with stage 3 thymic carcinoma.
Zentralblatt für Chirurgie - Zeitschrift für Allgemeine Viszeral- Thorax- und Gefäßchirurgie · 2018 · 0 citations
Lymph node involvement and surgical treatment of thymic carcinoma
AbstractThymic carcinoma is a rare but aggressive malignancy and confers poor prognosis. Surgery is the mainstay of treatment and complete resection provides the best survival rate. The role of neoadjuvant and postoperative radio- and chemotherapy is still controversial and additional prognostic factors are needed to properly risk stratify patients and personalize the treatment course.
AB031. PS01.13: Clinicopathological characteristics and prognostic factors of patients with thymic carcinoma
AbstractBackground: The purpose of this study was to analyze the clinicopathological characteristics, long-term outcomes, and prognostic factors influencing recurrence and survival in patients with thymic carcinoma. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 171 patients with pathologically confirmed thymic carcinoma who were treated at our center between December 1970 and November 2014. Clinicopathological characteristics (age, sex, histological subtype, presence or absence of myasthenia gravis, symptoms, tumor size, and Masaoka-Koga stage), treatment modalities, and clinical outcomes [overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS)] were analyzed. Results: The median follow-up was 30 (range, 3-141) months. The median survival time of all 171 patients was 64 (95% confidence interval: 42.4–93.6) months. The 5- and 10-year OS rates were 51.5% and 22.6%, respectively. The median PFS was 19 (95% confidence interval: 15.1–26.9) months. The 5-year PFS rate was 24.2%. From the univariate and multivariate analyses, symptoms, surgical resection, Masaoka-Koga stage, and radiotherapy (RT) were identified as independent prognostic factors for OS and PFS. Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate that an asymptomatic tumor, surgical resection, radiotherapy, and early Masaoka-Koga stage are favorable prognostic factors for survival in thymic carcinoma patients.
AbstractThymic carcinoma is a type of relatively rare and highly malignant tumor compared to other solid tumors in the chest. The treatment and prognosis for it remain controversial. In recent years, with the improvement of diagnosis, the incidence of thymic carcinoma has increased year by year, and the prognosis of patients has also been improved. This paper focused on the characteristics and main treatment methods of thymic carcinoma and the current treatment status was reviewed.
Key words:
Thymic carcinoma; combined therapy; prognosis; Chinese Alliance of Research for Thymomas
Internal Medicine · 2024 · 0 citations · open access
Localized Unresectable Thymic Carcinoma Treated with Induction Chemotherapy with Lenvatinib before Radiotherapy
AbstractThymic carcinoma is a rare malignancy with limited treatment options. Lenvatinib, a novel multitarget kinase inhibitor, has recently been used to treat advanced or metastatic thymic carcinoma that cannot be surgically removed. To date, there have been no reports of lenvatinib being used as induction chemotherapy prior to radiotherapy in cases of localized, unresectable thymic carcinoma. We herein report an 85-year-old Japanese woman with localized unresectable thymic carcinoma who was treated with lenvatinib as induction chemotherapy before undergoing radiotherapy. Our findings suggest that lenvatinib may be a viable option for induction chemotherapy in similar clinical scenarios.
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.
