Evidence map›Paper›PMID 23679841›Full record

SynthesisBMC psychiatry2013

Antidepressants in the treatment of depression/depressive symptoms in cancer patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Zacharias G Laoutidis, Klaus Mathiak

Abstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in BMC psychiatry, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 47 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
47citing papers in PubMed, 6 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

47 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Antidepressants for the treatment of depression in people with cancer.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2018
    Pooled it
  5. Pooled it
  6. Antidepressants for the treatment of depression in people with cancer.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2015
    Pooled it
  7. Trial
  8. Trial
  9. Trial
  10. Review
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Review
  15. Metabolic underpinnings of cancer-related fatigue.American journal of physiology. Endocrinology and metabolism · 2024
    Review
  16. Article
  17. Review
  18. Antidepressants for the treatment of depression in people with cancer.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2023
    Review
  19. Article
  20. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors.

Zacharias G LaoutidisDepartment of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, RWTH, University of Aachen, Bergische Landstrasse 2, 40629 Düsseldorf, Germany. Zacharias.Laoutidis@lvr.de
Klaus Mathiak

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundOver the past thirty years a number of studies have suggested that antidepressants can be effective in the treatment of depressive symptoms in patients with cancer. The aim of this paper was to review randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and to perform a meta-analysis in order to quantify their overall effect.

methodsPubmed and the Cochrane libraries were searched for the time period between 1980 and 2010.

resultsNine RCTs were identified and reviewed. Six of them (with a total of 563 patients) fulfilled the criteria for meta-analysis, but exhibited an unclear risk for bias. The estimated effect size was 1.56 with 95% CI: 1.07- 2.28 (p= 0.021). There were no differences in discontinuation rates between antidepressants and placebo groups (RR= 0.86 with 95% CI 0.47- 1.56, p=0.62).

conclusionsThis meta-analysis suggests that antidepressants can be effective in treating depressive symptoms beside clinical depression. When considering the risk of side effects and interactions and the heterogeneity among the mostly small studies, a general recommendation cannot be made until well-controlled studies are conducted.

Indexed as

Antidepressive AgentsDepressionDepressive DisorderHumansNeoplasmsTreatment OutcomeAntidepressive Agents

Identifiers

PMID23679841
PMCPMC3674917

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.