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A new series of compounds characterized by the presence of a 2-methoxy/ethoxycarbonyl group, combined with either no substituent or a methoxy group at each of the four possible positions of the benzene portion of the 3-(3′,4′,5′-trimethoxyanilino)benzo[b]furan skeleton, were evaluated for antiproliferative activity against cancer cells in culture and, for selected, highly active compounds, inhibition of tubulin polymerization, cell cycle effects, and in vivo potency. The greatest antiproliferative activity occurred with a methoxy group introduced at the C-6 position, the least with this substituent at C-4. Thus far, the most promising compound in this series was 2-methoxycarbonyl-3-(3′,4′,5′-trimethoxyanilino)-6-methoxybenzo[b]furan (3g), which inhibited cancer cell growth at nanomolar concentrations (IC₅₀ values of 0.3–27 nM), bound to the colchicine site of tubulin, induced apoptosis, and showed, both in vitro …