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For patients with cancer who are suffering from major depression, treatment with psilocybin plus individual and group psychological support can significantly relieve depressive symptoms, a clinical trial has found. In a companion study led by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute investigators, trial participants said the treatment experience with psilocybin – a hallucinogenic compound derived from certain mushrooms – created a sense of connection, meaning, and transcendence that aided the healing process.

Managing medications

The trial, described in two papers in the journal Cancer, was one of the first to evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of psilocybin treatment integrated with individual and group support for patients with cancer and depression. It was led by Manish Agrawal, MD, of Sunstone Therapies.
“We were very impressed by how many patients benefited from this intervention – and by how much,” said Dana-Farber’s Yvan Beaussant, MD, MSc, who co-authored one of the new studies in Cancer and led the other. “The trial showed this approach to be viable, safe, and, for many patients, remarkably effective compared to other treatments they had previously tried to treat their depression.”

The group aspect of the treatment was particularly valued. “Having this experience as a group felt reassuring to participants,” Beaussant comments. “Especially during the integration phase – the group sessions after treatment with psilocybin – participants appreciated the chance to hear what others had experienced, which in some cases prompted them to explore other dimensions of their own experience.”