Provided is a method of treating cancer in a subject by inhibiting expression of PAX2. An example of a cancer treated by the present method is prostate cancer. Similarly, provided is a method of treating cancer in a subject by increasing expression of DEFBl in the subject. In the method wherein the expression of DEFBl is increased, it can be increased by blocking the binding of PAX2 to the DEFBl promoter. Blocking the binding of PAX2 to the DEFBl promoter can be by administration of an oligonucleotide containing the PAX2 DNA binding site of DEFBl. This oligonucleotide can be complementary to the sequence of PAX2 that binds to the DEFBl promoter. Alternatively, the oligonucleotide can interact with the PAX2 in a way that inhibits binding to DEFBl.