use strict;
my $str = '+a-bc-a
-bc+a-a
-b+a+ab';
my $regex = qr/^[+-](?:(a)|(bc))+(?:(a)|(bc))*+([+-x\/](?:(a)|(bc))+(?:(a)|(bc))*)*$/mp;
my $subst = '';
my $result = $str =~ s/$regex/$subst/rg;
print "The result of the substitution is' $result\n";
Please keep in mind that these code samples are automatically generated and are not guaranteed to work. If you find any syntax errors, feel free to submit a bug report. For a full regex reference for Perl, please visit: http://perldoc.perl.org/perlre.html