A single dose of psilocybin, a psychedelic compound found in mushrooms, when combined with psychotherapy, can lead to significant and lasting improvements in emotional and existential distress for individuals battling cancer. The benefits of this treatment can persist for nearly five years, according to researchers at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. This follow-up study reinforces findings from their original 2016 research, highlighting the potential of psilocybin therapy in addressing the psychological challenges faced by cancer patients.
Long-Term Benefits Confirmed
The long-term follow-up study, published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, assessed participants approximately 3 and 4.5 years after they received a single dose of psilocybin. The results indicated sustained reductions in anxiety, depression, hopelessness, demoralization, and death anxiety at both follow-up points. Notably, 60 to 80 percent of participants still met the criteria for clinically significant antidepressant or antianxiety responses at the 4.5-year mark.
Participants' Perspectives
An overwhelming majority of participants, ranging from 71 to 100 percent, attributed positive life changes to their psilocybin-assisted therapy experience. They also rated it among the most personally meaningful and spiritually significant experiences of their lives, underscoring the profound impact of the treatment.
Expert Commentary
Dr. Stephen Ross, the lead investigator of the 2016 parent study and an associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry at NYU Langone Health, stated, "Adding to evidence dating back as early as the 1950s, our findings strongly suggest that psilocybin therapy is a promising means of improving the emotional, psychological, and spiritual wellbeing of patients with life-threatening cancer." He emphasized the potential for this approach to revolutionize the psychological and existential care of cancer patients, particularly those with terminal illnesses.
The Need for Alternative Treatments
An alternative means of treating cancer-related anxiety and depression is urgently needed. Close to 40 percent of the global population will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime, with approximately a third of these individuals experiencing anxiety, depression, and other forms of distress. These conditions are associated with poorer quality of life, increased rates of suicide, and lowered survival rates.
Conventional pharmacologic treatments, such as antidepressants, are effective for less than half of cancer patients and often perform no better than placebos. Furthermore, they do not address existential distress and death anxiety, which are common among cancer patients and linked to a hastened desire for death and increased suicidality.
How Psilocybin Works
Researchers believe that psilocybin enhances the effectiveness of psychotherapy by making the brain more flexible and receptive to new ideas and thought patterns. The drug targets the default mode network in the brain, which is associated with self-reflection and mind wandering. In patients with anxiety and depression, this network becomes hyperactive, leading to rumination, worry, and rigid thinking. Psilocybin appears to shift activity in this network, enabling individuals to adopt a broader perspective on their behaviors and lives.
Study Details
In the original study, 29 cancer patients received nine psychotherapy sessions and a single dose of either psilocybin or an active placebo (niacin). After seven weeks, treatments were swapped, and participants were monitored for anxiety, depression, and existential distress. The new follow-up study represents the longest exploration of psilocybin's effects on cancer-related psychiatric distress to date.
Cautions and Future Directions
Gabby Agin-Liebes, PhD candidate and lead investigator of the long-term follow-up study, cautioned that psilocybin does not inherently lead to positive therapeutic effects when used in isolation and in uncontrolled settings. It should be administered in a controlled and psychologically safe environment, preferably with counseling from trained mental health practitioners.
Future research will involve larger trials with diverse socioeconomic and ethnic groups who have advanced cancer-related psychiatric and existential distress. This research has the potential to transform the psycho-oncologic care of cancer patients and improve the emotional and spiritual wellbeing of terminally ill individuals, particularly in hospice settings.
