Psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy improves psychiatric symptoms across multiple dimensions in patients with cancer

The authors of this thoughtful Nature Mental Health paper write: "Psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy (PAP) has shown promise in treating mood and anxiety disorders in patients with cancer. However, patients with cancer often suffer from more than just depression and anxiety, and so far, PAP’s effect on other psychiatric symptoms remains largely unknown. To address this gap, we pooled previously unpublished data from two phase II, randomized, placebo-controlled crossover trials involving 79 participants with cancer-related distress and analyzed PAP’s effect on 9 psychiatric symptom dimensions: anxiety, depression, interpersonal sensitivity, hostility, obsession–compulsion, somatization, phobia, paranoia and psychosis. PAP significantly improved anxiety, depression, interpersonal sensitivity, hostility, obsession–compulsion and somatization without inducing any lasting phobia, paranoia or psychosis. Clinical improvements were consistent between trials. Together, our findings suggest that PAP has the potential to be a comprehensive mental health treatment for patients with cancer." A linked commentary suggests: "Psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy alleviates anxiety and depression in people with cancer. A new pooled analysis of two phase 2 clinical trials reveals improvements in psychiatric symptoms such as interpersonal sensitivity, hostility and somatization. The treatment may therefore have a broader role as a non-specific ‘anti-distressant."

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