The application of antidepressant drugs in cancer treatment

Antidepressants refer to psychotropic drugs which are used to treat mental illness with prominent emotional depression symptoms. It was reported that antidepressants had associated with anti-carcinogenic function which was associated with various signaling pathways and changing of microenvironment. Its mechanism includes cell apoptosis, antiproliferative effects, mitochondria-mediated oxidative stress, DNA damaging, changing of immune response and inflammatory conditions, and acting by inhibiting multidrug resistance of cancer cells. Accumulated studies showed that antidepressants influenced the metabolic pathway of tumor cells. This review summarized recent developments with the impacts and mechanisms of 10 kinds of antidepressants in carcinostasis. Antidepressants are also used in combination therapy with typical anti-tumor drugs which shows a synergic effect in anti-tumor. By contrast, the promotion roles of antidepressants in increasing cancer recurrence risk, mortality, and morbidity are also included. Further clinical experiments and mechanism analyses needed to be achieved. A full understanding of the underlying mechanisms of antidepressants-mediated anticarcinogenic effects may provide new clues for cancer prevention and clinical treatment.

Automated summary

Antidepressants are psychotropic drugs used to treat mental illness. They have been found to have anticarcinogenic effects, affecting various signaling pathways and the microenvironment. Mechanisms include apoptosis, antiproliferative effects, oxidative stress, DNA damage, immune response and inflammation, and inhibition of multidrug resistance. This review summarizes the impacts and mechanisms of 10 antidepressants in preventing cancer and discusses their potential drawbacks. Further research is needed for a full understanding and to explore new avenues for cancer prevention and treatment.