The synthesis and antitumor evaluation of a series of new heteroaromatic- and aromatic-substituted hydroxycyclohexadienones ("quinols"), and their imine counterparts, are described. The quinols were synthesized via the addition of a lithiated aromatic moiety to a quinone ketal followed by deprotection. When the aromatic portion of the molecule is a fused heterobicyclic structure (e.g., benzothiazole derivative 7a), potent in vitro antitumor activity was observed in HCT 116 (GI50 = 40 nM) and HT 29 (GI50 = 380 nM) human colon as well in as MCF-7 and MDA 468 human breast cancer cell lines. When examined on the NCI Developmental Therapeutics Screening Program in vitro screen (60 human cancer cell lines), active compounds in this series consistently displayed a highly unusual pattern of selectivity; cytotoxicity (LC50) was concentrated in certain colon and renal cell lines only. Analogue 7a also showed in vivo antitumor activity against human RXF 944XL renal xenografts in nude NMRI mice and is the focus of further study.