Ezekiel Emanuel of the University of Pennsylvania and colleagues presented long-term results from a clinical trial that confirmed the effectiveness of psychotherapy with a single dose of psilocybin for the treatment of depression in cancer patients. The phase II trial involved 30 people with cancer and major depressive disorder. All of them received psychotherapy at the Sunstone Therapies research clinic, during one session of which they were prescribed 25 milligrams of psilocybin. Two-year follow-up data were available for 28 participants. They were published in the journal Cancer.
Fifteen (53.6%) patients showed a significant reduction in symptoms of depression according to the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale: by an average of 15 points compared to the baseline level (p < 0.001), with 14 (50%) achieving long-term remission. Also, 13 (46.4%) participants showed a significant reduction in manifestations of anxiety according to the Hamilton Rating Scale: by an average of 13.9 points (p < 0.001), and this effect was persistent in 12 (42.9%). Currently, the clinic is conducting extended trials of psychotherapy with two prescriptions of psilocybin for cancer patients with depression.