Table 1.

Potential advantages and disadvantages of Notch inhibition for cancer therapy

Advantages	Disadvantages
May be especially active against resistant tumor stem cell subpopulation	Gastrointestinal toxicity
Inhibiting other key cancer pathways and proteins through crosstalk—Ras, Akt, NF-κB, EGF, VEGF	Increased risk of cancers for which Notch acts as a tumor suppressor
Apoptotic effects	May diminish normal stem cell populations such as in the brain
Cell cycle inhibition	Effect on endothelial cells may stimulate vascular tumor formation over the long term
Senescence?
Antiangiogenic effects Sensitizes to other treatments, such as radiation and chemotherapy