ArticlePilot and feasibility studies2024
PAM trial protocol: a randomised feasibility study of psychedelic microdosing-assisted meaning-centred psychotherapy in advanced stage cancer patients.
Article in Pilot and feasibility studies, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
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
5 citing papers in PubMed, 8 citations in OpenAlex.
- Exploring meaning in culture: Insights from meaning-centered psychotherapy in Aotearoa, New Zealand.Palliative & supportive care · 2026Article
- It's all about the relationship: The caregiver experience of supporting a person with advanced cancer going through an LSD microdosing trial.Palliative & supportive care · 2026Article
- A Rapid Review of Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy in the Context of Palliative Care.Journal of hospice and palliative nursing : JHPN : the official journal of the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association · 2025Article
- Pharmacological Monotherapy for Depressive Disorders: Current and Future-A Narrative Review.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2025Review
- Review of Psilocybin Use for Depression among Cancer Patients after Approval in Oregon.Cancers · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
13 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundAn advanced cancer diagnosis can be associated with a significant profile of distress. Psychedelic compounds have shown clinically significant effects in the treatment of psychological distress in patients with advanced-stage cancer. Given the challenges of delivering timely and effective intervention in the advanced cancer context, it is possible that an alternative, more pragmatic, approach lies in psychedelic 'microdosing'. Microdosing refers to repeated administration of psychedelics in sub-hallucinogenic doses. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of conducting a full-scale randomised controlled trial comparing psychedelic microdose-assisted-meaning-centred psychotherapy (PA-MCP) to standard meaning-centred psychotherapy (MCP) in New Zealand indigenous (Māori) and non-indigenous people with advanced cancer and symptoms of anxiety and/or depression. Although MCP is a well-established psychotherapeutic treatment in advanced cancer populations, the potential efficacy and effectiveness of this therapy when delivered alongside a standardised microdose regimen of a psychedelic compound have not been investigated.
methodsParticipants with advanced-stage cancer and symptoms of anxiety and/or depression (N = 40; 20 Māori, 20 non-Māori) will be randomised under double-blind conditions to receive 7 sessions of MCP alongside 13 doses of either an LSD microdose (4-20 µg) (PA-MCP) or inactive placebo (placebo-MCP). The feasibility, acceptability, and safety of this intervention and physiological and psychological measures will be recorded at baseline, at each session of MCP, and at a 1-month and 6-month follow-up. DISCUSSION: Our findings will evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and safety of a larger randomised controlled trial and provide an initial indication of the potential benefits of psychedelic microdosing for psychological distress in advanced-stage indigenous and non-indigenous cancer patients.
trial registrationNZCTR, ACTRN12623000478617. Registered 11 May 2023. https://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=385810&isReview=true .
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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.