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Assessment of Psilocybin Therapy for Patients With Cancer and Major Depression Disorder

Manish Agrawal, Ezekiel Emanuel, Brian D. Richards, William A. Richards, Kim Roddy, Paul Thambi

JAMA Oncology April 13, 2023 DOI: 10.1001/jamaoncol.2023.0351 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Nonrandomized controlled trial Peer reviewed
Population Patients with cancer diagnosed with major depressive disorder
Intervention Psilocybin
Topics Depression Psilocybin
Keywords Depression economics Cancer therapy Randomized controlled trial Hallucinogen
Citations 48
Key findings Administering psilocybin with a one-to-one therapist-to-patient ratio to groups of patients with cancer and major depressive disorder may provide a scalable, rapidly effective depression treatment.

Abstract

This nonrandomized controlled trial used a 1-to-1 therapist-to-patient ratio to administer psilocybin to groups of patients with cancer who were diagnosed with major depression disorder to create a scalable, rapidly effective depression treatment.

Comparable studies

Other non-randomized and open-label trials on psilocybin for depression, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
Psilocybin with psychological support for treatment-resistant depression: an open-label feasibility study. Patients with moderate-to-severe, unipolar, treatment-resistant major depression 2016 Open-label feasibility trial n = 12
Psilocybin with psychological support for treatment-resistant depression: six-month follow-up. Patients with severe, unipolar, treatment-resistant major depression 2017 Open-label trial n = 20
Quality of Acute Psychedelic Experience Predicts Therapeutic Efficacy of Psilocybin for Treatment-Resistant Depression Patients with treatment-resistant depression 2018 Clinical trial n = 20
Psilocybin therapy increases cognitive and neural flexibility in patients with major depressive disorder. Patients with major depressive disorder 2021 Open-label study n = 24
Increased amygdala responses to emotional faces after psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression. Individuals diagnosed with moderate to severe, treatment-resistant depression 2017 Open-label study n = 20

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