Notch Signaling in Thyroid Cancer

Thyroid cancer is the most common malignancy of the endocrine system with a steadily rising incidence. The term "thyroid cancer" encompasses a spectrum of subtypes, namely papillary thyroid cancer, follicular thyroid cancer, anaplastic thyroid cancer, and medullary thyroid cancer. Each subtype differs histopathologically and in degrees of cellular differentiation, which may be in part due to signaling of the Notch pathway. The Notch pathway is an evolutionarily conserved signal transduction mechanism that regulates cell proliferation, differentiation, survival, stem cell maintenance, embryonic and adult development, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, and angiogenesis. Its role in cancer biology is controversial, as it has been shown to play both an oncogenic and tumor-suppressive role in many different types of cancers. This discordance holds true for each subtype of thyroid cancer, indicating that Notch signaling is likely cell type and context dependent. Whether oncogenic or not, Notch signaling has proven to be significantly involved in the tumorigenesis of thyroid cancer and has thus earned interest as a therapeutic target. Advancement in the understanding of Notch signaling in thyroid cancer holds great promise for the development of novel treatment strategies to benefit patients.