Sulfasalazine, a combination of a sulfa drug and an aspirin derivative, is often effective in reducing disease activity. It is taken orally, and is usually continued indefinitely if the person is not sensitive to one of the ingredients. A variation called mesalamine consists only of the aspirin portion of the drug, and is useful in people who are sensitive to the sulfa component. It is also available as an enema. Treatment of the more severe cases is usually handled by specialists in inflammatory bowel disease.
Colon cancer is a complication of ulcerative colitis.
A long duration of disease, continuous as opposed to intermittent activity, and involvement of the entire colon are thought to be risk factors for this complication. Approximate incidences of cancer range from three percent after 15 years of disease to 40 percent after 35 years of disease. Many experts recommend colonoscopy after eight to ten years of disease, with multiple biopsies. If borderline or early dysplasia is found, the colonoscopy with biopsies should be repeated annually. If no dysplasia is found on the first colonoscopy, the frequency can be reduced to every two to three years.