ESMO Asia 2016: Depressed Patients May Be Less Responsive to Chemotherapy
A brain-boosting protein plays an important role in how well people respond to chemotherapy, researchers reported at the ESMO Asia 2016 Congress in Singapore.
A study (Abstract 497O_PR) found that patients with cancer suffering from depression have decreased amounts of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in their blood. Low levels of BDNF may make patients less responsive to cancer drugs, and less tolerant of their side effects.
Lead author Yufeng Wu, Head of Oncology in the Department of Internal Medicine at the Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Henan Cancer Hospital in Zhengzhou, China, said, “It’s crucial doctors pay more attention to the mood and emotional state of patients. Depression can reduce the effects of chemotherapy and BDNF plays an important role in this process.”
Low mood is common among cancer patients, especially the terminally ill. BDNF is essential for healthy brain function and low levels have already been linked with mental illness. This study aimed to discover how depression influenced outcomes for people with advanced lung cancer.
Findings
Researchers recruited 186 newly diagnosed patients receiving chemotherapy. To assess their state of mind, they were asked to rate their depression levels the day before treatment began. Quality of life details, overall survival, and other data were also collected. This allowed researchers to compare this information with the patients’ mood scores.
Results showed that those whose cancer had metastasized were the most depressed and this severely decreased their tolerance to chemotherapy. It was associated with vomiting, a reduction in white blood cells, and prolonged hospital stays. Severe depression also reduced the length of progression-free survival, and patients with severe depression had lower levels of the protein in the blood.
Researchers found that BDNF clearly boosted the number of tumor cells killed by chemotherapy.
“Our aim now is to prescribe drugs such as fluoxetine to depressed patients and study their sensitivity to chemotherapy,” added Dr. Wu.
The content in this post has not been reviewed by the American Society of Clinical Oncology, Inc. (ASCO®) and does not necessarily reflect the ideas and opinions of ASCO®.
