The synthesis of a series of alpha-methylene-gamma-butyrolactones (compounds 4a, 4b, 6-12, 16, 17) and alpha,beta-unsaturated-delta-lactones (compounds 19-23, 25, 26) starting from 4,4-dimethyldihydrofuran-2,3-dione (1) has been described. Their chemical structures were assigned by spectroscopic evidence. These new compounds exhibited significantly different antiproliferative properties against cultured