Therapeutic and legal aspects of psilocybin in cancer-related depression
Frontiers in Psychiatry August 4, 2025 Wierzbicka Małgorzata, Renata Kopczyk, Alexander L. Gerlach et al. 1 citation
Depression is especially common in head and neck cancer (HNC) patients, who have twice the rate of major depressive disorder as other cancer patients, and this depression independently worsens clinical outcomes. Standard antidepressants and psychological therapies take weeks to work, a serious problem when surgery is imminent. Psilocybin, metabolized to psilocin, acts on serotonin and dopamine receptors and can lift mood within hours, outperforming escitalopram in trials for depression and also showing efficacy in PTSD and treatment-resistant depression. However, no studies have tested psilocybin for perioperative use in HNC patients. Legal status varies by country; in Poland it is restricted to research under the 1971 Psychotropic Convention, creating barriers despite its therapeutic promise. Overcoming these barriers will require collaboration among oncologists, psychiatrists, and policymakers.