Chemoprophylaxis of colorectal cancer in inflammatory bowel disease: current concepts.

Ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease both confer an increased risk of developing colorectal cancer. The use of 5-aminosalicylate as a remission-inducing agent has been long accepted. Its use as a potential chemoprophylactic agent has been proposed and is used by some practitioners. This review examines the most recent data on 5-aminosalicylate as a chemoprophylactic drug as well as ursodeoxycholic acid, folic acid, azathioprine, and 6-mercaptopurine.