ArticleACS pharmacology & translational science2021
Acute and Sustained Reductions in Loss of Meaning and Suicidal Ideation Following Psilocybin-Assisted Psychotherapy for Psychiatric and Existential Distress in Life-Threatening Cancer.
Article in ACS pharmacology & translational science, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 43 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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.
Who cites it
43 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 129 citations in OpenAlex.
- Predictors of therapeutic response to psychedelic-assisted therapy: A systematic review.Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) · 2026Pooled it
- The effects of psilocybin on psychological distress in cancer patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC psychology · 2026Pooled it
- Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies for Psychosocial Symptoms in Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2025Pooled it
- Psychedelic-assisted therapy for treating anxiety, depression, and existential distress in people with life-threatening diseases.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2024Pooled it
- Efficacy of psilocybin for treating symptoms of depression: systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2024Pooled it
- Psilocybin for major depressive disorder: a systematic review of randomized controlled studies.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Pooled it
- Ayahuasca-assisted meaning reconstruction therapy as an early resource for bereavement: a non-randomized clinical trial.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- Psilocybin-induced changes in neural reactivity to alcohol and emotional cues in patients with alcohol use disorder: an fMRI pilot study.Scientific reports · 2024Trial
- Bereavement Interventions for Children and Adolescents: An Evidence and Gap Map of Primary Studies and Systematic Reviews.Campbell systematic reviews · 2026Article
- Implementing psilocybin-assisted therapy in palliative care settings: A survey of stakeholders.Palliative medicine · 2026Article
- Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy for Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy Among Patients with Advanced Cancer and Depression: Rationale and Preliminary Evaluation of MCP-PSIL.Psychedelic medicine (New Rochelle, N.Y.) · 2026Article
- Psilocybin mitigates chronic behavioral and neurobiological alterations in a rat model of recurrent intimate partner violence-related brain injury.Molecular psychiatry · 2026Article
- Learnings from a hybrid communities of practice group therapy model to support psilocybin-assisted therapy for patients with a terminal diagnosis.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- The CAnadian Network for Psychedelic-Assisted Cancer Therapy (CAN-PACT): A Multi-Phase Program Overview.Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2025Review
- Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy in Palliative Care-Insights from an International Workshop.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Systematic Review of the Effect of Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy on Attitudes Toward Death, Life, and Spirituality on Symptoms of Distress, Depression, and/or Anxiety in Patients with Life-Threatening Illness.Psychedelic medicine (New Rochelle, N.Y.) · 2025Review
- The Emergence of Psilocybin in Psychiatry and Neuroscience.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Psychedelics for Depression: Between Hopes and Uncertainties.Focus (American Psychiatric Publishing) · 2025Article
- Psychedelics for Cancer Pain and Associated Psychological Distress: A Narrative Review of a Potential Strategy.Cancer medicine · 2025Review
- Psychedelics and Suicide-Related Outcomes: A Systematic Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
11 authors at 6 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
People with advanced cancer are at heightened risk of desire for hastened death (DHD), suicidal ideation (SI), and completed suicide. Loss of Meaning (LoM), a component of demoralization, can be elevated by a cancer diagnosis and predicts DHD and SI in this population. We completed a randomized controlled trial in which psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy (PAP) produced rapid and sustained improvements in depression, demoralization, and hopelessness in people with cancer. Converging epidemiologic and clinical trial findings suggests a potential antisuicidal effect of this treatment. To probe our hypothesis that PAP relieves SI through its beneficial impacts on depression and demoralization (LoM in particular), we performed secondary analyses assessing within- and between-group differences with regard to LoM and an SI composite score. Among participants with elevated SI at baseline, PAP was associated with within-group reductions in SI that were apparent as early as 8 h and persisted for 6.5 months postdosing. PAP also produced large reductions in LoM from baseline that were apparent 2 weeks after treatment and remained significant and robust at the 6.5 month and 3.2 and 4.5 year follow-ups. Exploratory analyses support our hypothesis and suggest that PAP may be an effective antisuicidal intervention following a cancer diagnosis due to its positive impact on hopelessness and demoralization and its effects on meaning-making in particular. These preliminary results implicate psilocybin treatment as a potentially effective alternative to existing antidepressant medications in patients with cancer that are also suicidal, and warrant further investigation in participants with elevated levels of depression and suicidality.
Identifiers
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Registered trials
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.