Particular emphasis is placed on derivatives exhibiting strong cytotoxic effects against a broad spectrum of cancer cell lines (e.g., OVCAR3, MCF-7, A549, HCT-116, HeLa, and Jurkat), low toxicity toward normal cells and well-defined mechanisms of action involving topoisomerase IIα, EGFR, STAT3, and CDK1 inhibition, as well as ROS generation and cell cycle arrest. The gene discussed is STAT3; the disease is cancer.