Heteroarotinoids Containing Urea or Thiourea Linker

Abstract

Compounds, known as heteroarotinoids, having varying abilities to inhibit growth of certain cancerous cells, induce normal cell differentiation, and induce apoptosis or death of cancerous cells, of the general formula: ##STR1## in which: Ar and Ar' denote aryl substituents, and wherein at least one of said aryl substituents comprises an aromatic ring having at least one heteroatom in a fused, partially saturated ring; W denotes O or S; and Q denotes H or i-C.sub.3 H.sub.7.