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HYPOTHESIS AND THEORY article

Front. Psychiatry

Sec. Psychopharmacology

Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1591864

Therapeutic and Legal Aspects of Psilocybin in Cancer-Related Depression

Provisionally accepted
Wierzbicka  MałgorzataWierzbicka Małgorzata1,2,3Joanna  RymaszewskaJoanna Rymaszewska4Aleksandra  GerlachAleksandra Gerlach1*Renata  KopczykRenata Kopczyk5
  • 1Research and Development Center, Regional Specialist Hospital, Wrocław, Silesian, Poland
  • 2Institute of Human Genetics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poznań, Greater Poland, Poland
  • 3Faculty of Medicine Wroclaw University of Science and Technology ­, Wrocław, Poland
  • 4Head of Department of Clinical Neurosciences Faculty of Medicine Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wrocław, Poland
  • 5Faculty of Menagement, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wrocław, Poland

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Depression prevalence is markedly elevated in oncological patients, particularly among head and neck cancer (HNC) cohorts, who face twice the prevalence of major depressive disorder (MDD) compared to other cancer populations. MDD in this context independently predicts poorer clinical outcomes and increased morbidity.HNC management often involves acute surgical interventions with disfiguring effects, creating a narrow therapeutic window for conventional antidepressants requiring weeks to achieve efficacy. Psychological interventions face similar time constraints, complicating perioperative mental health support.Psilocybin -metabolized to psilocin -modulates serotonin (5-HT2A) and dopamine receptors, demonstrating rapid antidepressant effects within hours rather than weeks. Clinical trials validate its superiority over escitalopram in MDD treatment and efficacy in PTSD and treatment-resistant depression. Despite these benefits, no studies explore perioperative applications in HNC patients.

Keywords: Head neck cancer, Treatment, distress, Depression, Antidepressant utilization, psilocybin, legislation

Received: 27 Mar 2025; Accepted: 15 Jul 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Małgorzata, Rymaszewska, Gerlach and Kopczyk. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Aleksandra Gerlach, Research and Development Center, Regional Specialist Hospital, Wrocław, 51-124, Silesian, Poland

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