Diagnosis and treatment of malignant neoplasms

A method of inhibiting tumor growth in a mammal, comprising administering to said mammal a compound which inhibits expression of alpha-ketoglutarate-dependent dioxygenase aspartyl (asparaginyl) beta-hydroxylase (AAH), wherein said compound is a nucleic acid comprising an antisense sequence which is complementary to the 5′ portion of the AAH sequence comprising cggaccgtgca (nucleotides 1-11 of SEQ ID NO:3) in a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, said antisense sequence consisting of 10 nucleotides in length and wherein said tumor overexpresses AAH compared to normal noncancerous cells.

A method of inhibiting tumor growth in a mammal, comprising administering to said mammal a nucleic acid in a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, wherein said nucleic acid comprises an antisense sequence which is complementary to a 5′ portion of the AAH sequence of SEQ ID NO:3 and comprises a sequence complementary to the initiating ATG methionine-encoding codon of said SEQ ID NO:3, said antisense sequence consisting of between 10-50 nucleotides, inclusive, in length and wherein said tumor overexpresses AAH compared to normal noncancerous cells.

A method of inhibiting tumor growth in a mammal, comprising administering to said mammal a compound which inhibits expression of alpha-ketoglutarate-dependent dioxygenase aspartyl (asparaginyl) beta-hydroxylase (AAH) in a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, wherein said compound is a nucleic acid comprising an antisense sequence which is complementary to the 5′ AAH sequence cggaccgtgca of SEQ ID NO:3, wherein said tumor overexpresses AAH compared to normal noncancerous cells, and wherein the length of said antisense sequence consists of between 10-50 nucleotides, inclusive.