Access

Review

Nature Reviews Cancer 3, 756–767 (1 October 2003) | doi:10.1038/nrc1186

The role of Notch in tumorigenesis: oncogene or tumour suppressor?

Freddy Radtke & Kenneth Raj

Notch signalling participates in the development of multicellular organisms by maintaining the self-renewal potential of some tissues and inducing the differentiation of others. Involvement of Notch in cancer was first highlighted in human T-cell leukaemia, fuelling the notion that aberrant Notch signalling promotes tumorigenesis. However, there is mounting evidence that Notch signalling is not exclusively oncogenic. It can instead function as a tumour suppressor.