Retinoic acid receptor α (RARα) agonist that induces differentiation (ED50 = 0.79 nM) and apoptosis of HL-60 cells in vitro. Exhibits antiproliferative effects against a variety of human tumor cells lines (mean values of 35, 40 and 60% growth inhibition at 0.1, 1 and 10 μM respectively) and displays anticancer activity against acute promyelocytic leukemia in vivo.