the present invention provides for pharmaceutical compositions comprising carvedilol for treatment of cancer . more particularly the invention relates to the use of carvedilol for treatment of cancers of the colon , ovary , breast , prostate , pancreas , lung , melanoma , glioblastoma , oral cancer and leukemias . although not bound to any theory , the anticancer activity of carvedilol appears to be attributed to the inhibition of epidermal growth factor and platelet derived growth factor dependent proliferation of cancer cells . further , carvedilol exerts anticancer effect by inhibition of the protein kinase c activity and that of the cyclooxygenase 2 enzyme . the invention also relates to the anticancer activity of the optically pure isomers s and r of carvedilol and the use of carvedilol and its isomers in pharmaceutical compositions for the treatment of cancer .