Ezekiel Emanuel of the University of Pennsylvania and colleagues presented long-term results of clinical trials confirming the effectiveness of psychotherapy with a single dose of psilocybin for the treatment of depression in cancer patients. Thirty people with cancer and major depressive disorder participated in the phase II trial. 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. The results were published in the journal Cancer.
Fifteen patients (53.6 percent) experienced a significant reduction in their Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MDR): an average of 15 points compared to baseline (p < 0.001), with 14 (50 percent) achieving long-term remission. Thirteen (46.4 percent) participants also experienced a significant reduction in their Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAAR): an average of 13.9 points (p < 0.001), with this effect being sustained in 12 (42.9 percent). The clinic is currently conducting expanded trials of psychotherapy with two psilocybin prescriptions for depressed cancer patients.
