Targeting Bcl-2 protein expression in solid tumors and hematologic malignancies with antisense oligonucleotides.

This review article focuses on the intrinsic (mitochondrial) pathway of apoptosis, the function of the Bcl-2 protein family that regulates this pathway, the background of the antisense oligonucleotide oblimersen, which targets Bcl-2 protein synthesis, and the implications for this agent in hematologic malignancies.