Classes of compounds that exhibit effective inhibition of autotaxin enzymes are provided. Such classes include thioureas, diphenyldiazerenes, xanthenes, and isoindoles and exhibit reactivity with autotaxin to ultimately reduce the size of the reactive sites thereon to prevent conversion of lysophosphatidyl choline to lysophophatidic acid. Furthermore, such compounds can be incorporated within delivery forms for human ingestion. As such, these compounds accord an excellent manner of potentially reducing generation of certain cancers attributable to the presence of naturally occurring autotaxin within the human body. Methods of inactivating autotaxin to certain degrees therewith such compounds are encompassed within invention as well.