Epoxides are cancer-causing agents chemically analogous to the nitrogen mustards, a family of powerful antitumor drugs. We found that the DNA interstrand cross-linking sequence preference of diepoxybutane is the same as that of the mustard mechlorethamine: 5'-GNC. Therefore, the genomic site of cross-linking alone cannot explain why some interstrand cross-linkers act as antitumor agents whereas others are deadly toxins.