Drosophila melanogaster: a model organism to study cancer

Cancer is a multistep disease driven by the activation of specific oncogenic pathways, concomitantly, with the suppression of tumor suppressor genes that act as sentinels to control physiological growth. The conservation of most of these signaling pathways in Drosophila, and the ability to easily manipulate them genetically, has made the fruit fly a useful model organism to study cancer biology. In this review we outlined the basic mechanisms and signaling pathways, conserved between humans and flies, responsible for inducing uncontrolled growth, and cancer development. Second, we described classic and novel Drosophila models used to study different cancers, with the objective to discuss the strengths and limitations of their use, to understand cell growth autonomously and within organs, and to discuss their use in drug screening aimed at discovering therapeutic approaches.