Antidepressants May Help Fight Cancer

A comprehensive literature review published in the journal ecancer suggests that antidepressants may help fight cancer in several ways, including stimulation of the immune response.

Antidepressants may be helpful to cancer patients in other areas as well, such as sleep, appetite, pain and depression.

Antidepressants work by affecting levels of chemicals called prostaglandins, which are believed to regulate every cell in the body, including those involved in mood and immunity.

According to the report, an ideal anti-cancer agent would inhibit prostaglandins in such a way as to shut down the formation of cancer; and, antidepressants appear to have this ability, as well as the ability to mitigate some of the more unpleasant symptoms associated with cancer treatment.

The report also notes that, paradoxically, adjusting prostaglandins may be responsible for both pro- and anti-cancer activity. The implication of this is that antidepressants may also be capable of triggering or accelerating cancer. While studies thus far have not confirmed that antidepressants can promote cancer, breast cancer has been reported in three men taking a class of antidepressants called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (includes drugs such as Prozac, Zoloft and Celexa).

"Overall," says study author Dr. Julian Lieb, "the positive effects of antidepressants in cancer therapeutics outweigh the negatives."