Résumé : The 1 : 2 condensation of dibutyltin(IV) oxide with 1,2-carborane-9-carboxylic acid resulted in bis(1,2-dicarba-closo-dodecaborane-9-carboxylato)di-n-butyltin (1), the first carborane-based organotin compound where the carborane cage is linked to the carboxylic moiety via a boron atom. The structure of 1, characterized by 1H, 11B, 13C, 119Sn NMR spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction, was shown to correspond to bis(1,2-dicarba-closo-dodecaborane-9-carboxylato)di-n-butyltin. Compound 1 was screened in vitro against seven tumour cell lines of human origin and was found to be significantly more active than 5-fluorouracil, cis-platin and carboplatin but less active than methotrexate and doxorubicin. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.