NOTCH1 and cancer: Recent studies have aimed to develop antibodies against specific NOTCH receptors and ligands with the hope of limiting side effects while providing the same therapeutic benefit as gamma secretase inhibitors (drugs that inhibit NOTCH signaling); these studies were carried out in human cancers with commonly overactivated mutations in NOTCH1 that confer a survival advantage on the tumors, leading to poorer outcomes for the patients [15, 27].