Recent status of the antisense oligonucleotide approaches in oncology.

Antisense oligonucleotides designed to complement a region of a particular messenger RNA may inhibit gene expression potentially through sequence-specific hybridization. Their inhibiting effect has been shown in a variety of in vitro and in vivo models in oncology, whereas much rarer clinical trials have been carried out. Rigorous demonstration of in vitro and in vivo specific effects upon their targets is mandatory before their use as drugs in cancer therapy.