Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35599320›Full record

ArticleBMC palliative care2022

What is the effectiveness and safety of mirtazapine versus escitalopram in alleviating cancer-associated poly-symptomatology (the MIR-P study)? A mixed-method randomized controlled trial protocol.

Guillaume Economos, Marine Alexandre, Elise Perceau-Chambard, Laurent Villeneuve, Fabien Subtil, Julie Haesebaert, Olivier Glehen

Registry-linked trialOpen access · goldAbstract readClinical Trial Protocol
In one paragraph

Article in BMC palliative care, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04763135 (What is the Effectiveness and Safety of Mirtazapine Versus Escitalopram in Alleviating Cancer-associated Poly-symptomatology), which is not on this map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
0.5field-weighted citation impact, top 37% of its field
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.

NCT04763135 phase3terminatednot on this map

What is the Effectiveness and Safety of Mirtazapine Versus Escitalopram in Alleviating Cancer-associated Poly-symptomatology (MIR-P)? A Mixed-method Randomized Controlled Trial Protocol

TypeinterventionalSponsorHospices Civils de LyonRan2021 to 2021Enrolled1ConditionsCancer, Neoplasms, Neoplasm MetastasisArmsMirtazapine, Escitalopram
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. The use of antihistamine and antihistamine-like drugs for cancer-related pain: a narrative review.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2025
    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

7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Guillaume EconomosEA 3738 - CICLy - Centre d'Innovation en Cancérologie de Lyon, UFR Faculté de Médecin Lyon-Sud-Charles Mérieux BP1, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, 165, Chemin du Grand Revoyet, 69921, Oullins Cedex, France. Economos.guillaume@gmail.com.
Marine AlexandrePublic Health, Research and Clinical Epidemiology, Hospices Civils de Lyon, 165, Chemin du Grand Revoyet, 69495, Pierre-Bénite, France.
Elise Perceau-ChambardPalliative Care Center, Hospices Civils de Lyon, 165, Chemin du Grand Revoyet, 69495, Pierre-Bénite, France.
Laurent VilleneuvePublic Health, Research and Clinical Epidemiology, Hospices Civils de Lyon, 165, Chemin du Grand Revoyet, 69495, Pierre-Bénite, France.
Fabien SubtilPublic Health, Research and Clinical Epidemiology, Hospices Civils de Lyon, 165, Chemin du Grand Revoyet, 69495, Pierre-Bénite, France.
Julie Haesebaert *Public Health, Research and Clinical Epidemiology, Hospices Civils de Lyon, 165, Chemin du Grand Revoyet, 69495, Pierre-Bénite, France.
Olivier Glehen *Surgical Oncology, Hospices Civils de Lyon, 165, Chemin du Grand Revoyet, 69495, Pierre-Bénite, France.
Hospices Civils de Lyon · FRLaboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive · FR

Funding

Direction Générale de l'offre de Soins PHRCI-19-073
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAdvanced cancer patients often experience multiple symptoms at a same time. This might lead to polypharmacy and increase adverse events representing major threats to the quality of health care, especially in palliative care situations. Mirtazapine, an antidepressant agent, has been suggested as a potential relevant drug to alleviate multiple cancer-related symptoms at a same time. Therefore, the present study aims to assess the effectiveness of mirtazapine in alleviating multiple symptoms at a same time in advanced cancer patients suffering from a major depressive episode compared to a group receiving escitalopram, another antidepressant agent.

methodsMulticentre, prospective, randomized, controlled trial in 12 palliative care services in France. The study will be based on a mixed-method methodology using parallel groups, of oral mirtazapine compared with oral escitalopram, with a 56 day follow-up. The primary outcome will be an improvement of the Global health Status (issued from the EORTC-QLQ-C30) on day 56. 418 participants will be clinically followed-up on day 7 and 56 and will have a telephonic assessment on days 14 and 28. A sub-sample of participants will be invited to take part in semi-structured qualitative interviews at baseline and day 56. For the qualitative part, purposeful sampling will be used. DISCUSSION: This study will provide evidence for the pharmaceutics management of poly-symptomatology in advanced cancer patients. This could lead to important changes in the management of those patients by using a single molecule to alleviate multiple symptoms at a same time, potentially improving medication adherence, symptoms' control, and reducing the risk of medications adverse events.

trial registrationTrial registration: NCT04763135 . Registered 18 March 2021.

Indexed as

Major Depressive DisorderNeoplasmsAntidepressive AgentsEscitalopramHumansMirtazapineProspective StudiesRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicTreatment OutcomeAntidepressive AgentsEscitalopramMirtazapineAdvanced cancerAntidepressive AgentsCancer painNeoplasmsPalliative CarePolysymptomatologySigns and Symptoms

Identifiers

PMID35599320
PMCPMC9125889
OpenAlexW4281297598

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

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.