We first carried out an RT-PCR analysis for the transcripts of Notch1, Notch2, Notch3, Notch4, Jagged1, Jagged2, Delta-like1(Dll1), Delta-like3 (Dll3), and Delta-like4 (Dll4) from several immortalized and transformed breast cell lines (Additional file 1: Table 1) We were able to detect transcripts of all members of the Notch family, except for Dll3 in diverse immortalized and cancer cell lines. This evidence concerns the gene NOTCH1 and cancer.