Notch inhibitors and their role in the treatment of triple negative breast cancer: promises and failures

Purpose of review: Notch signaling is a highly evolutionarily conserved cell-to-cell communication system that is involved in a number of pivotal cellular processes, such as development, stem cell maintenance, cell fate specification, differentiation, proliferation, and death. Much progress has been made in understanding Notch signaling. This review will focus on the role of canonical Notch signaling pathway in breast cancer cause and progressing. Recent findings: In this review, we will discuss the results of the studies using drugs, which target the Notch pathway. Summary: Notch sustains a proliferative signaling and protects from apoptosis, favors the angiogenic switch, the chemoresistance and radioresistance, controls the cancer stemness, and induces a prometastatic phenotype. Therefore, Notch-signaling represented an interesting target in the strategy against cancer growth.