9-aminonoscapine and its use in treating cancers, including drug-resistant cancers

9-aminonoscapine, prodrugs thereof, and pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof, are disclosed. Pharmaceutical compositions including 9-aminonoscapine, and methods of preparation and use thereof are disclosed. 9-aminonoscapine is a noscapine analog that can be used to treat and/or prevent a wide variety of cancers, including drug resistant cancers, by binding tubulin and inducing apoptosis selectively in tumor cells (ovarian and T-cell lymphoma) resistant to paclitaxel, vinblastine and teniposide. 9-aminonoscapine can perturb the progression of cell cycle by mitotic arrest, followed by apoptotic cell death associated with increased caspase-3 activation and appearance of TUNEL-positive cells. Thus, 9-aminonoscapine is a novel therapeutic agents for a variety of cancers, including ovarian and T-cell lymphoma cancers, even those that have become drug-resistant to currently available chemotherapeutic drugs.