The present invention relates to the treatment of
cancer and particularly of
lung cancer. In the present study, the inventors analyzed the role of the Notch pathway in EGFR-driven
lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) using complex genetic mouse models and patient derived xenografts. They found that, similarly to
KRAS-driven LUAD, EGFR-driven LUAD shows both Notch pathway hyperactivation and
addiction to its activity. Importantly, combination of
EGFR tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors (TKIs) with Notch inhibition re-sensitizes LUAD cells harboring gatekeeper mutations EGFRT790M or EGFRC797S to
gefitinib and
osimertinib, respectively. Moreover, they show that pSTAT3, which is known to increase upon
EGFR TKI treatment, directly binds to the HES1
promoter and represses HES1 expression. Finally, high HES1 expression levels correlate with shorter
progression free survival and its expression increases upon progression in EGFR mutated patients under TKI treatment. Thus, the present invention relates to a combination of a
tyrosine-
kinase inhibitor (TKI) against
epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and an inhibitor of the
Notch signalling pathway for use in the treatment of a
cancer in a subject in need thereof.