A method for treating cancer in a human, which comprises administering to
the human subject an anti-cancer effective amount of a compound selected
from gossypol, gossypol acetic acid, gossypolone, metabolites thereof, or
physiologically acceptable salts thereof. Also included is a method for
treating cancer in a human which comprises administering to the human
subject an anti-cancer effective amount of any of the compounds listed
above in combination with an anti-cancer effective amount of other
conventional chemotherapeutic agents. Finally, the invention also
encompasses a pharmaceutical composition comprising an anti-cancer
effective amount of gossypol, gossypol acetic acid, or gossypolone, and
an anti-cancer effective amount of a conventional chemotherapeutic agent,
or combinations of the latter.