Study: Aminosalicylates May Help Prevent Colorectal Cancer

Aminosalicylates, aspirin-like medications used for the treatment of mild to moderate inflammatory bowel disease, may be helpful in preventing colorectal cancer in normal individuals, according to Dutch researchers.

Aminosalicylates, such as sulfasalazine and mesalamine, are intestinal anti-inflammatory agents that are a widely used first line of treatment for Crohn's Disease, inflammatory bowel disease and ulcerative colitis..

Reporting in the American Journal of Gastroenterology, the researchers said evidence suggests that these drugs confer also "some protection" against development of the abnormal cell growth linked to colorectal cancer in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

They said that since some studies suggest that aminosalicylates also protect against development of colorectal cancer in inflammatory bowel disease patients wihose disease is under control, "this latter observation implies that aminosalicylates may be of chemopreventive value in normal" individuals as well.

Other sources: American Journal of Gastroenterology