Cannabinoids is a “No-Go” While a Cancer Patient is on Immunotherapy; but is It Safe to Use Psychedelics During Cancer Immunotherapy?
E. Amit Romach, M. Nachliely, Olivia Moran, Michèle Brami, I. Lamensdorf
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) February 2, 2021 preprint DOI: 10.1101/2021.02.01.429102 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Preclinical study |
|---|---|
| Intervention | Psylocibin |
| Topics | Anxiety |
| Keywords | Immune system Cancer immunotherapy Depression economics Immunology |
| Citations | 2 |
| Key points | Preclinical data indicate that psychedelics may reduce the effectiveness of immune checkpoint inhibitors and could negatively affect tumor growth. |
Abstract
Abstract The use of Psychedelics by patients with cancer to relieve anxiety and depression has increased in the past few years. Since Psychedelics have immunomodulatory effects, their consumption among cancer patients should be carefully considered due to their potential negative effects on the tumor immune stroma, especially in view of the increase in the utilization of therapeutic approaches that are based on immune activation such as treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). Preclinical data provided in this report indicate a potentially negative impact on tumor growth as a result of Psychedelics consumption during treatment with ICIs. Furthermore, our research suggests that the use of psychedelic agents (Lysergic acid diethylamide [LSD] or Psylocibin) might diminish the beneficial therapeutic benefits of ICIs. It might be necessary to expend this line of research in order to validate these findings, in view of the increase use of cannabinoids and psychedelics among cancer patients, some of them being treated with immune-based modalities.
Comparable studies
Other preclinical and animal studies on anxiety, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychedelics, but Not Ketamine, Produce Persistent Antidepressant-like Effects in a Rodent Experimental System for the Study of Depression Rats | 2020 | Preclinical study | |
| Effects of N,N-Dimethyltryptamine on Rat Behaviors Relevant to Anxiety and Depression Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats | 2018 | Experimental study | |
| Chronic, Intermittent Microdoses of the Psychedelic N , N -Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) Produce Positive Effects on Mood and Anxiety in Rodents Male rats | 2019 | Animal study | |
| 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine facilitates fear extinction learning Mice | 2015 | Preclinical experimental study | |
| Repeated lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) reverses stress-induced anxiety-like behavior, cortical synaptogenesis deficits and serotonergic neurotransmission decline Male mice exposed to chronic restraint stress | 2022 | Preclinical experimental study |
Citations in the library
Cites 5
- Rapid and sustained symptom reduction following psilocybin treatment for anxiety and depression in patients with life-threatening cancer: a randomized controlled trial Journal of Psychopharmacology November 30, 2016
- Psychedelic N,N-dimethyltryptamine and 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine modulate innate and adaptive inflammatory responses through the sigma-1 receptor of human monocyte-derived dendritic cells. PLoS One 2014
- Psychedelics and Immunomodulation: Novel Approaches and Therapeutic Opportunities Frontiers in Immunology July 14, 2015
- Serotonergic Psychedelics: Experimental Approaches for Assessing Mechanisms of Action Handbook of experimental pharmacology 2018
- Immunological Consequences of In Vitro Exposure to Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD) Immunopharmacology and Immunotoxicology 1994