Common Antidepressants Found to Suppress Tumor Growth in Cancer: Study

Swift Summary

• A UCLA study published in Cell reveals that SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors), a class of commonly prescribed antidepressants, can help the immune system suppress tumor growth across multiple cancer types.
• SSRIs work by increasing serotonin levels, which play a role not only in mood regulation but also in immune system function.
• Lab studies showed that SSRI treatment reduced tumors by over 50% in both mouse and human models of cancers such as melanoma, breast, prostate, and colon cancers.
• Combining SSRIs with existing treatments like immune Checkpoint Blockade (ICB) therapy enhanced their efficacy substantially, with mice showing drastically reduced tumor sizes.
• repurposing FDA-approved drugs like SSRIs could lead to faster clinical application at lower costs compared to developing new cancer therapies from scratch.

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Indian Opinion Analysis

The study underscores an ongoing shift toward re-evaluating known drugs for broader medical applications – here focusing on a cost-efficient way to enhance cancer treatment using widely available antidepressants like SSRIs. For India’s healthcare system, integrating repurposed drugs has significant potential given its limited resources for expensive therapies yet high demand for accessible solutions. Collaborating with global research initiatives around repurposed drug treatments could enable quicker adoption within India’s oncology framework while reducing dependence on high-cost innovations.

Moreover, improving existing therapies such as immune checkpoint blockades with easily accessible medications could transform care outcomes in rural and low-resource settings where cutting-edge treatments are often limited or unavailable due to infrastructure challenges. However, careful evaluation through localized clinical trials will be critical to ensuring these findings translate effectively within India’s diverse population and healthcare landscape.

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