TGFB1 and cancer: Also notably, accumulated evidence has indicated that TGF-β signaling potently drives SMAD-specific transcriptional program, and that orchestration of the biologically distinct roles of TGF-β signaling in cancer cells may in part rely on molecules that interact with SMADs and thereby modulate the functions of SMADs, which consequently alters the expression spectra of TGF-β target genes30–35.