SUMMARY Background

Mesalazine (mesalamine) (5-ASA) is considered an anti-inflammatory drug for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease. It is well toler-ated by most patients and induces mucosal healing specifically in ulcer-ative colitis. Besides its anti-inflammatory properties, 5-ASA has been studied for cancer inhibitory activities as it seems to reduce colorectal cancer incidence in patients using this drug for long periods of time. However, detailed molecular mechanisms of drug action are vague. Aims To evaluate known molecular mechanisms of 5-ASA on chemopreven-tion of colorectal malignancy. Methods Systematic review with search terms ‘5 aminosalicylic acid, mesalazine, 5-ASA, mesalazine, molecular mechanisms, chemoprevention ’ betwee