ReviewBrain, behavior, & immunity - health2022
A systematic review of pharmacologic treatment efficacy for depression in older patients with cancer.
Review in Brain, behavior, & immunity - health, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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
8 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 8 citations in OpenAlex.
- Depression increases cancer mortality by 23-83%: a meta-analysis of 65 studies across five major cancer types.GeroScience · 2026Pooled it
- Recognizing the psychological impact of a glioma diagnosis on mental and behavioral health: a systematic review of what neurosurgeons need to know.Journal of neurosurgery · 2023Pooled it
- Pharmacotherapeutic Management of Depression in Patients With Cancer: A Review of Mechanistic and Clinical Evidence.Cancer reports (Hoboken, N.J.) · 2026Review
- Antidepressant-like effects of cannabidiol when combined with temozolomide in adult rats.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Article
- Mental Comorbidity and Psychosocial Care in Patients with Cancer.Deutsches Arzteblatt international · 2025Article
- Age-stratified comorbid and pharmacologic analysis of patients with glioblastoma.Brain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2024Article
- Antidepressants for the treatment of depression in people with cancer.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2023Review
- Developing a virtual neuro-oncology journal club series during the COVID-19 pandemic to promote interprofessional education and collaborative research.Neuro-oncology advancesArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
19 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Background: Older adults ≥65 years of age represent the majority of new cancer diagnoses and are vulnerable to developing depression-like symptoms. Evaluation and management of depression in older cancer patients is underappreciated despite its high prevalence and impact on health-related quality of life. Although antidepressants are the primary pharmacologics used to treat depressive-like symptoms, the efficacy and overall benefit(s) are not well-characterized in older adult patients with cancer. The objective of this investigation was to review what is known about the efficacy of pharmacologic treatment for older adults with depression and cancer. Methods: PubMed (Medline) and EMBASE (Elsevier) databases were analyzed for relevant literature in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Results: 1,919 unique studies were identified for title and abstract screening. Forty-eight publications were retrieved for full review. None of the identified studies evaluated the potential for benefit after pharmacological treatment among older adults with cancer and depression. Twenty-seven publications met all study criteria except for an analysis focused on older patients. Conclusion: We discovered a universal absence of literature with a relevance to pharmacologic antidepressant treatment effects in older adult patients with cancer. This included a lack of evaluation in patients with brain tumors who have an unusually high predilection for developing depression. Our findings suggest that new research is critically needed for understanding optimal clinical management strategies in older adults with cancer and depression who are treated with antidepressants.
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What OpenQuestion holds
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.