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SSRIs could reduce risk of colorectal cancer
However, clinicians should not consider selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors for chemopreventive purposes until trial data are obtained.
The use of some antidepressants may reduce the risk of developing colorectal cancer, according to researchers reporting in The Lancet Oncology. The antidepressants, known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), may inhibit the growth of colorectal tumors, according to lead researcher Jean-Paul Collet, MD, from the Sir Mortimer B. Davis Jewish General Hospital in Montreal.
“Further investigation is needed, with more complete assessment of confounders, such as lifestyle factors, use of drugs and comorbidity, that might affect the occurrence of colorectal cancer,” Collet added in a press statement.
Collet and colleagues identified 3,367 patients with colorectal cancer and matched them with a group of controls that did not have cancer. Patients were aged between 5 and 85 years and were registered with Saskatchewan Health (Canada).
Researchers adjusted for nonsteroidal antiflammatory use during the same period and SSRI use six to 10 years prior to a diagnosis of colorectal cancer. After these adjustments, they identified a 30% decreased risk of cancer for patients receiving a high SSRI dose (greater than 6 x 106 molecules/day) up to five years before their cancer diagnosis (P=.0172).
Henrik Toft Sørensen, MD, from the Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark, commented on Collet’s research. He said that data from the study “[provided] interesting insights, but until trial data [are] available, clinicians should not consider SSRI use solely for chemopreventive purposes.”
Results from studies of antidepressant use and cancer risk have been inconsistent and have focused mainly on cancers of the breast and ovaries. The risk associated with colorectal cancer is unknown, according to the study.
In the United States, about 100 million prescriptions for antidepressants are written every year; the most common are SSRIs. Animal studies have suggested that SSRIs reduce the growth of colorectal tumors. In the current study, researchers hypothesized that these drugs might reduce the risk of colorectal cancer in humans.
Collet said that SSRI use might inhibit the growth of colorectal tumors through an antipromoter effect or direct cytotoxic effect.
For more information:
- Xu W, Tamim H, Shapiro S, et al. Use of antidepressants and risk of colorectal cancer: a nested case-control study. Lancet Oncol. 2006;7:301-308.
- Sørensen HT. Selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors and chemoprevention of colorectal cancer. Lancet Oncol. 2006;7:277-279.