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. 2019 Dec;47(12):6016-6026.
doi: 10.1177/0300060519862469. Epub 2019 Oct 23.

Impact of tricyclic antidepressants, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, and other antidepressants on overall survival of patients with advanced lung cancer from 2004 to 2014: University of Cincinnati experience

Nagla Fawzy Abdel Karim  1 , Rammey Hassan  1 , Nabeela Iffat Siddiqi  1 , Ihab Eldessouki  1 , Ola Gaber  1 , Mohamed Rahouma  2 , Mohamed Kamel  2 , Mhender Yellu  1 , Shuchi Gulati  1 , Changchun Xie  3 , Mohamed Magdy  4 , Jane Pruemer  5
Affiliations

Impact of tricyclic antidepressants, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, and other antidepressants on overall survival of patients with advanced lung cancer from 2004 to 2014: University of Cincinnati experience

Nagla Fawzy Abdel Karim et al. J Int Med Res. 2019 Dec.

Abstract

Objectives: To evaluate and categorize the survival benefit of tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) in lung cancer patients based on systematic computational drug repositioning data.

Methods: Data were retrospectively extracted from the medical records of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients from the University of Cincinnati Cancer Medical Center database. Patients receiving antidepressants during their course of anti-cancer treatment were compared with those without antidepressants. Data were analyzed using Kaplan–Meier survival curves with the log-rank test, and overall survival (OS) was calculated from the date of diagnosis until last follow-up or death.

Results: The median OS at 2 and 5 years for patients on antidepressants was 20.3 months (54.7% and 42%) vs 44.3 months (47.6% and 43.2%), which was not significant. The median OS for patients receiving TCAs, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, and other antidepressants was 3.17 months, 31.33 months, and 18.50 months, respectively.

Conclusion: We found no significant survival benefit for TCA use in combination with anti-cancer agents in NSCLC patients.

Keywords: Lung cancer; SSRIs; apoptosis; drug repositioning; overall survival; tricyclic antidepressants.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Unadjusted Kaplan–Meier overall survival curves for antidepressant vs control groups.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Cox regression-adjusted Kaplan–Meier overall survival curves for antidepressant vs control groups. Adjustment was for age, sex, and stage.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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