The 4-methoxy-5-methylpyrano[4, 3-£]indole-1, 3(4H, 5H)-dione (9), prepared from methyl 3-methoxycarbony1-1-acetate (6), underwent a strong base-induced cycloaddition reaction with 2-chloro-6, 6-ethylenedioxy-5, 6, 7, 8-tetrahydro-1, 4-naphthoquinone (11) to give the tetrahydronaphtho[2, 3-b]carbazole-7, 12-dione (10), regioselectively. The cycloadduct (10) was successfully converted to a D-ring indole analogue of daunomycin (la). © 1990, The Pharmaceutical Society of Japan. All rights reserved.