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Notch signaling as a therapeutic target in cancer: a new approach to the development of cell fate modifying agents

Abstract

Notch signaling controls cell fate decisions including during development and stem cell renewal and differentiation in many postnatal tissues. Increasing evidence suggests that the Notch signaling network is frequently deregulated in human malignancies and that genetic or pharmacological manipulation of Notch signaling is a novel potential strategy for the treatment of human neoplasms. This review article summarizes the most recent preclinical and clinical evidence linking Notch signaling to cancer, delineates questions that remain unanswered and explores potential biopharmacological strategies to manipulate Notch signaling in vivo.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Dr Mary Hendrix (University of Iowa) for helpful discussions. We are supported by grants from NIH (R01 CA84065-01) and the Illinois Department of Public Health to LM, NIH (PO1 CA59327) to BJN and NIH (RO1 AG 16690) and the Department of Defense (DOD 9818314) to BAO. The authors apologize to investigators whose primary references could not be quoted for lack of space.

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Nickoloff, B., Osborne, B. & Miele, L. Notch signaling as a therapeutic target in cancer: a new approach to the development of cell fate modifying agents. Oncogene 22, 6598–6608 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.onc.1206758

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