Notch Emerges as New Cancer Drug Target

A metaphor for cancer is normal development gone awry. All tissues in the body arise from embryonic stem cells that gradually give rise to specialized cells. Cancer resembles a case of arrested development because less differentiated tumors are almost always the most aggressive. So it's no surprise that genes regulating normal fetal and childhood development have been implicated in adult cancer. The question now: If a gene regulating development can cause cancer, can blocking that gene eradicate the tumor? One such gene is Notch. First described almost a century ago, Notch has become the object of intense study in cancer. Evidence is growing that Notch signaling can drive the growth of a wide range of tumors, from leukemia to breast cancer. At least two cancer clinical trials are under way using Notch inhibitors, and several others are pending. “This is an exploding field,” says Lucio Miele, M.D., Ph.D., a cancer researcher at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Ill.