This technology provides a pharmaceutical and health functional food composition for preventing and treating Taxol-resistant lung and prostate cancer, using genistein—an isoflavone found in sources like mulberry root bark—as an active ingredient. Genistein is formulated to induce apoptosis in resistant cancer cells by inhibiting the activity of the cell division kinase PLK1.
While Taxol-based chemotherapy is widely used for lung, prostate, and breast cancers, long-term use often leads to resistance and cross-resistance, reducing efficacy and causing toxicity at high concentrations. Although anticancer candidates targeting PLK1, which is linked to cancer prognosis, are being studied, no drugs have been approved yet, and research on treatments for Taxol-resistant cancer remains limited.
This technology shows minimal toxicity to normal cells while killing PLK1-overexpressing Taxol-resistant cancer cells with sensitivity comparable to non-resistant cells. It also includes a screening method for identifying new drug candidates by comparing test substances against PLK1 expression levels in genistein-treated cells derived from resistant cancer patients. Applicable to second-line treatments for Taxol-resistant lung and prostate cancer, adjuvant health supplements, and PLK1-targeted drug discovery platforms, it offers a new natural-product-based treatment option for patients who no longer respond to existing therapies.
This invention was developed with support from the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning for the discovery of Polo-Like Kinase 1 inhibitors using short-time fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) assays and the development of cancer-selective anticancer agents.
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