7RH inhibited the proliferation and colony formation of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells. (A) Structure of the (3-(2-(pyrazolo(1,5-a)pyrimidin-6-yl)-ethynyl)benzamide compound, 7RH. (B) SUNE1, HONE1, CNE2 and CNE1 cells were treated with 0, 0.625, 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10 or 20µmol/l 7RH for 72 h, after which the antiproliferative effect of 7RH was measured using MTT assays. Cell proliferation was decreased in a dose-dependent manner following treatment with 7RH in all cell lines. (C) The colony forming abilities of CNE2 and HONE1 cells were decreased in a dose-dependent manner following treatment with 0.4, 0.6 and 0.8 µmol/l 7RH and (D) quantified using ImageJ software. Data are presented as the mean ± standard deviation of triplicate experiments. *P<0.05 vs. DMSO. DMSO, dimethyl sulfoxide.