This technology provides a pharmaceutical composition for the prevention and treatment of colorectal cancer, as well as a functional food supplement for colorectal cancer therapy, containing both clove extract and the targeted therapy agent cetuximab as active ingredients. When administered together, the clove extract acts as an enhancer that boosts the anticancer activity of cetuximab.
While the incidence of colorectal cancer in Korea has risen significantly due to the Westernization of diets, conventional treatments such as surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy carry heavy side effects and financial burdens. Cytotoxic chemotherapy damages healthy cells, while targeted therapies, which are less toxic to healthy cells, only slow cancer growth. This necessitates long-term use, leading to high costs and the potential development of drug resistance.
This technology combines clove extract with targeted therapies that focus on epidermal growth factor receptors to synergistically increase the apoptosis of colorectal cancer cells. In colorectal cancer cell lines, this combination was shown to significantly increase cell death compared to cetuximab alone. As clove is a long-standing culinary spice, it can also be used as a food-based supplement. Applicable to cetuximab-based combination therapies, functional food supplements for cancer patients, and animal research models, this approach allows expensive targeted therapies to achieve sufficient efficacy at lower doses, thereby reducing the costs and resistance issues associated with long-term treatment.
This invention was developed through the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries' support for the development and industrialization of high-value cosmetic ingredients derived from marine microalgae.
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