Patent ID: 7833988

Claim:
A method for inhibiting the growth of hepatic cancer cells, wherein said hepatic cancer cells express (a) a polypeptide having the sequence of amino acid 14 (Ala) to amino acid 226 (Gly) of SEQ ID NO: 2, or (b) a polypeptide encoded by the DNA sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1; the method comprising administering an antisense oligonucleotide capable of specifically and stably hybridizing to at least 20 contiguous nucleotides in the nucleotide sequence as shown in SEQ ID NO: 1, wherein the antisense oligonucleotide is represented by the following formula: wherein X is independently any of oxygen (O), sulfur (S), a lower alkyl group, a primary amine or a secondary amine; Y is independently any of oxygen (O) or sulfur (S); B is selected from the group consisting of adenine, guanine, thymine and cytosine; R is independently hydrogen (H), a dimethoxytrityl group or a lower alkyl group; and n is 18 to 28, wherein the antisense oligonucleotide comprises the nucleotide sequence as set forth as SEQ ID NO: 8.