In people with advanced cancer, psychedelic drugs like psilocybin, LSD and MDMA

In people with advanced cancer, psychedelic drugs like psilocybin, LSD and MDMA may significantly reduce the severity of depression and anxiety symptoms.

Roughly 10% of patients with cancer experience anxiety, while 20% report depression. However, current research suggests that available prescription antidepressants do not significantly decrease depressive symptoms in cancer patients compared with a placebo.

My team and I recently completed a meta-analysis of five clinical trials examining anxiety and depression symptoms in patients with advanced forms of cancer and other life-threatening diseases. We found that taking psychedelic medication alone – specifically LSD, psilocybin or MDMA – reduced depression scores as measured by the Beck’s Depression Inventory by six points, where a score below 10 indicates minimal to no depression and above 30 indicates major depression. The average scores at baseline were between 15 and 18 for most studies, though one trial had a baseline of approximately 30. Psychedelics also reduced anxiety scores as measured by the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory by seven to eight points, where a score of 20 to 37 indicates no or minimal anxiety and a score of 45 to 80 indicates high anxiety. The average scores were between 40 and 55 but approximately 60 in one trial.

In one trial of 51 cancer patients, 60% of those who received a single high-dose psilocybin session achieved clinical remission for depression, and 52% did for anxiety. In comparison, 16% of those who received a placebo achieved remission for depression and 12% for anxiety. These effects were still maintained six months later.