Assessment of Psilocybin Therapy for Patients With Cancer and Major Depression Disorder
Open accessAbstract
This nonrandomized controlled trial used a 1-to-1 therapist-to-patient ratio to administer psilocybin to groups of patients with cancer who were diagnosed with major depression disorder to create a scalable, rapidly effective depression treatment.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The text we found for this paper looks like another document, so the self-check wasn’t run.
Cites
State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Adults
Spielberger, C. D. (2012) · PsycTESTS Dataset · doi:10.1037/t06496-000 · Cited by 3,479 · see citing works
Mitchell, A. J., Chan, M., Bhatti, H., Halton, M., Grassi, L., Johansen, C., & Meader, N. (2011) · The Lancet Oncology · doi:10.1016/s1470-2045(11)70002-x · Cited by 2,449 · see citing works
Griffiths, R. R., Johnson, M. W., Carducci, M. A., Umbricht, A., Richards, W. A., Richards, B. D., Cosimano, M. P., & Klinedinst, M. A. (2016) · Journal of Psychopharmacology · doi:10.1177/0269881116675513 · Cited by 2,201 · see citing works
Self-citationArrieta, O. G., Angulo, L., Núñez-Valencia, C., Dorantes-Gallareta, Y., Macedo, E. O., Martínez-López, D. M., Alvarado, S., Corona-Cruz, J. F., & Oñate-Ocaña, L. F. (2012) · Annals of Surgical Oncology · doi:10.1245/s10434-012-2793-5 · Cited by 345 · see citing works
Golan, O., Baron-Cohen, S., Hill, J. J., & Rutherford, M. D. (2007) · Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders · doi:10.1007/s10803-006-0252-5 · Cited by 308 · see citing works
Grassi, L. G., Caruso, R., Hammelef, K., Nanni, M. G., & Riba, M. (2014) · International Review of Psychiatry · doi:10.3109/09540261.2013.842542 · Cited by 102 · see citing works
Brown, E. S., Murray, M., Carmody, T. J., Kennard, B. D., Hughes, C. W., Khan, D. A., & Rush, A. J. (2008) · Annals of Allergy Asthma & Immunology · doi:10.1016/s1081-1206(10)60467-x · Cited by 52 · see citing works
Moulton, C. D., Strawbridge, R., Tsapekos, D., Oprea, E., Carter, B., Hayes, C., Cleare, A. J., Marwood, L., Mantingh, T., & Young, A. H. (2020) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2020.12.185 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 16
- Tsapekos, D., Strawbridge, R., Cleare, A., Disorders, A. Y.-B. & 2016, undefined. Measuring depression in clinical trials: a systematic review of the HAM-D original scale versus the embedded subscales as efficacy measures: P-338.
- McCormack, H. M., Horne, D. J. d. L. & Sheather, S. Clinical applications of visual analogue scales: A critical review. Psychol. Med. 18, 1007-1019 (1988).
- Hofmann, A. Isolement de la Psilocybine à partir du Stropharia cubensis Earle et d'autres espèces de champignons hallucinogènes mexicains appartenant au genre Psilocybe. Comptes rendus Académie des sciences vol. 4 557-561 (1958).
- Passie, T. A History of Use of Psilocybin in Psychotherapy. Sacred Mushroom of Visions: Teonanacatl: a sourcebook on the psilocybin mushroom (Park Street Press, 2005).
- Coyne, J. C., Lepore, S. J. & Palmer, S. C. Efficacy of psychosocial interventions in cancer care: Evidence is weaker than it first looks. in Annals of Behavioral Medicine vol. 32 104-110 (2006).
- Coyne, J. C. & Lepore, S. J. Rebuttal: The black swan fallacy in evaluating psychological interventions for distress in cancer patients. in Annals of Behavioral Medicine vol. 32 115-118 (2006).
- Lepore, S. J. & Coyne, J. C. Psychological interventions for distress in cancer patients: A review of reviews. in Annals of Behavioral Medicine vol. 32 85-92 (2006).
- Manne, S. L. & Andrykowski, M. A. Are psychological interventions effective and accepted by cancer patients? II. Using empirically supported therapy guidelines to decide. in Annals of Behavioral Medicine vol. 32 98-103 (2006).
- Andrykowski, M. A. & Manne, S. L. Are psychological interventions effective and accepted by cancer patients? I. Standards and levels of evidence. in Annals of Behavioral Medicine vol. 32 93-97 (2006).
- Manne, S. L. & Andrykowski, M. A. Seeing the forest for the trees: A rebuttal. in Annals of Behavioral Medicine vol. 32 111-114 (2006).
- Lan Ly, K., Chidgey, J., Addington-Hall, J. & Hotopf, M. Depression in palliative care: A systematic review: Part 2. Treatment. Palliat. Med. 16, 279-284 (2002).
- Richards, W., Grof, S., Goodman, L. & Kurland, A. LSD-assisted psychotherapy and the human encounter with death. J. Transpers. Psychol. Vol. 4(2) 4, 121-150 (1972).
- Emotion Recognition Task (ERT) | Cambridge Cognition. https://www.cambridgecognition.com/cantab/cognitive-tests/emotion-and- social/emotion-recognition-task-ert/.
- Spatial Working Memory (SWM) | Cambridge Cognition. https://www.cambridgecognition.com/cantab/cognitive-tests/memory/spatial-working- memory-swm/.
- Carhart-Harris, R. L. et al. Neural correlates of the psychedelic state as determined by fMRI studies with psilocybin. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 109, 2138-2143 (2012).
- Studerus, E., Gamma, A. & Vollenweider, F. X. Psychometric Evaluation of the Altered States of Consciousness Rating Scale (OAV). PLoS One 5, e12412 (2010).
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Psilocybin-assisted therapy for depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Haikazian, S., Chen-Li, D. C. J., Johnson, D. E., Fancy, F., Levinta, A., Husain, M. I., Mansur, R. B., McIntyre, R. S., & Rosenblat, J. D. (2023) · Psychiatry Research · doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2023.115531 · Cited by 134 · see citing works
Psilocybin‐assisted group therapy in patients with cancer diagnosed with a major depressive disorder
Agrawal, M., Richards, W., Beaussant, Y., Shnayder, S., Ameli, R., Roddy, K., Stevens, N., Richards, B., Schor, N., Honstein, H., et al. (2024) · Cancer · doi:10.1002/cncr.35010 · Cited by 88 · see citing works
Self-citationHOPE: A Pilot Study of Psilocybin Enhanced Group Psychotherapy in Patients With Cancer
Lewis, B. R., Garland, E. L., Byrne, K., Durns, T. A., Hendrick, J., Beck, A. C., & Thielking, P. D. (2023) · Journal of Pain and Symptom Management · doi:10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2023.06.006 · Cited by 70 · see citing works
Psychedelic therapies reconsidered: compounds, clinical indications, and cautious optimism
Mitchell, J., & Anderson, B. T. (2023) · Neuropsychopharmacology · doi:10.1038/s41386-023-01656-7 · Cited by 49 · see citing works
Group psychedelic therapy: empirical estimates of cost-savings and improved access
Marseille, E. A., Stauffer, C. S., Agrawal, M., Thambi, P. M., Roddy, K., Mithoefer, M. C., Bertozzi, S., & Kahn, J. G. (2023) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1293243 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
Self-citationQuality of reporting on psychological interventions in psychedelic treatments: a systematic review
Seybert, C., Schimmers, N., Silva, L., Breeksema, J. J., Veraart, J. K. E., Bessa, B. S., d’Orsi, D., Schoevers, R. A., & Oliveira-Maia, A. J. (2024) · The Lancet Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/s2215-0366(24)00333-x · Cited by 34 · see citing works
Beaussant, Y., Tarbi, E., Nigam, K., Miner, S., Sager, Z., Sanders, J. J., Ljuslin, M., Guérin, B., Thambi, P., Tulsky, J. A., et al. (2024) · Cancer · doi:10.1002/cncr.35024 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Self-citationPlourde, L., Chang, S.-L., Farzin, H., Gagnon, P. R., Hébert, J., Foxman, R., Deschamps, P., Provost, F., Masse-Grenier, M., Stephan, J.-F., et al. (2024) · Palliative Medicine · doi:10.1177/02692163231222430 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
Kittur, M. E., M, L. A. B., Jones, B. D. M., Blumberger, D. M., Mulsant, B. H., Rosenblat, J. D., & Husain, M. I. (2025) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2025.119952 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Psilocybin: From Psychiatric Pariah to Perceived Panacea
Fonzo, G. A., Wolfgang, A. S., Barksdale, B. R., Krystal, J. H., Carpenter, L. L., Kraguljac, N. V., Grzenda, A. L., McDonald, W. M., Widge, A. S., Rodríguez, C. I., et al. (2025) · American Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.20230682 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
Effinger, D. P., Hoffman, J. L., Mott, S., Magee, S. N., Quadir, S. G., Rollison, C. S., Toedt, D., Sanchez, M. E., High, M. W., Hodge, C. W., et al. (2024) · Nature Communications · doi:10.1038/s41467-024-49741-9 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Schuman, H. D. M., Savard, C., Mina, R., Barkova, S., Conradi, H. S. W., Deleemans, J. M., & Carlson, L. E. (2025) · Current Oncology · doi:10.3390/curroncol32070380 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Beyond psychedelics: set and setting in general psychiatric practice
Kozak, Z., & Miller, C. W. T. (2024) · International Review of Psychiatry · doi:10.1080/09540261.2024.2419662 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Research and Implementation of Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy in the Veterans Health Administration
Wolfgang, A. S., McClair, V. L., Schnurr, P. P., Holtzheimer, P. E., Woolley, J. D., Stauffer, C. S., Wolf, R. C., States, L. J., Benedek, D. M., Capaldi, V. F., et al. (2025) · American Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.20240751 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Hosein, M., Reid, M. J., Walser, S. A., Charney, S., Fonzo, G. A., Lewis, B. R., Yaden, D. B., Suppes, T. M., Cordner, Z. A., & Barrett, F. S. (2025) · EClinicalMedicine · doi:10.1016/j.eclinm.2025.103517 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Nervous system in colorectal cancer
Xu, C., Jiang, C., Tian, Y., Liu, Y., Zhang, H., Xiang, Z., Xue, H., Gu, L., & Xu, Q. R. (2024) · Cancer Letters · doi:10.1016/j.canlet.2024.217431 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Scala, M., Fabbri, C., Fusar-Poli, P., Di Lorenzo, G., Ferrara, M., Amerio, A., Fusar-Poli, L., Pichiecchio, A., Asteggiano, C., Menchetti, M., et al. (2024) · CNS Spectrums · doi:10.1017/s1092852924002268 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
“, 60, 73-77 73-77 Open-label studies 25,39,57,78-81 and two follow-up analyses 61, 62 supported the overall positive findings RCTs.”
Five-year outcomes of psilocybin-assisted therapy for Major Depressive Disorder
Davis, A. K., DellaCrosse, M. A., Sepeda, N. D., Levin, A. W., Cosimano, M. P., Shaub, H., Washington, T., Gooch, P. M., Gilead, S., Gaughan, S. J., et al. (2025) · Journal of Psychedelic Studies · doi:10.1556/2054.2025.00461 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Psychedelic medicine: mechanisms, evidence, and translation to practice
Jacobs, E., Zahid, Z., Hinkle, J. T., Nayak, S. M., & Yaden, D. B. (2026) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj-2024-081723 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Long‐term benefits of single‐dose psilocybin in depressed patients with cancer
Agrawal, M., Roddy, K., Jenkins, B., Leeks, C., & Emanuel, E. (2025) · Cancer · doi:10.1002/cncr.35889 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Self-citationAvanceña, A. L. V., Vuong, L., Kahn, J. G., & Marseille, E. A. (2025) · Translational Psychiatry · doi:10.1038/s41398-025-03556-4 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Bian, W., Chen, Y., Ni, Y., Lv, B.-H., Gong, B., Zhu, K., Gao, W., Zeng, L., Lu, W., & Zhang, B. (2024) · European Journal of Pharmacology · doi:10.1016/j.ejphar.2024.176860 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Chronic stress in cancer development and progression
Niu, X., Wu, T. H., Zeng, L., Wang, F., Lv, W., Zhang, L., & Zhou, F. (2025) · 中国科学通报：英文版 · doi:10.1016/j.scib.2025.09.034 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Beaussant, Y., Tarbi, E. C., Nigam, K. B., Miner, S. A., Sager, Z. S., Sanders, J. J., Ljuslin, M., Guérin, B., Sholevar, R., Roddy, K., et al. (2025) · General Hospital Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2025.10.010 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Self-citationExploring serotonergic psychedelics as a treatment for personality disorders
Carrithers, B. M., Roberts, D. E., Weiss, B., King, J. D., Carhart-Harris, R. L., Gordon, A. R., Pagni, B. A., Moreau, M., Ross, S., & Zeifman, R. J. (2025) · Neuropharmacology · doi:10.1016/j.neuropharm.2025.110413 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Ethische Aspekte der Therapie mit Psychedelika
Repantis, D., Koslowski, M., & Fink, S. B. (2024) · Die Psychotherapie · doi:10.1007/s00278-024-00710-z · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Back, A. L., McGregor, B. A., Thorn, L. L., Baker, K. K., Gooley, T., Kaelen, M., Harvey, K., Guy, J., Myers, S., Perez, J., et al. (2026) · Psychedelic Medicine · doi:10.1177/28314425251413856 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Zheng, Y., Cheng, Q., Wu, S., Li, B., Zhang, L., & Cheng, W. (2026) · Brain Behavior and Immunity · doi:10.1016/j.bbi.2026.106471 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Gordon, A. R., Carrithers, B. M., Pagni, B. A., Kettner, H., Marrocu, A., Nayak, S. M., Weiss, B. J., Carhart-Harris, R. L., Roberts, D. E., & Zeifman, R. J. (2024) · Research Square · doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-4203641/v1 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Kratina, S., Strıke, C., Schwartz, R. D., Nayfeh, A., Jopling, S. A., Lo, C., & Rush, B. R. (2025) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2025.118536 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Meaning and Psychedelics in Palliative Care: A Narrative Review
Alexander, W. B., Hansen, E., Anderson, B. T., Zarrabi, A. J., Rogers, A. H., Loewen, G., Ficcaro, Z. R., Alexander, M. H., Schaefer, D., & Case, A. A. (2025) · Journal of Pain and Symptom Management · doi:10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2025.10.015 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Carlson, L. E., Richardson, H., Shore, R., Albertyn, C. P., Balneaves, L. G., Bates, A. T., Burnell, M. J., Chochinov, H. M., Clements, D., Deleemans, J. M., et al. (2025) · Current Oncology · doi:10.3390/curroncol33010007 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Low-income group psilocybin assisted therapy for depression: An Oregon feasibility study
Hicks, M., Hicks, O., Bradley, R. D., & Zwickey, H. L. (2026) · Journal of Psychedelic Studies · doi:10.1556/2054.2026.00485 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Beaussant, Y., Sager, Z. S., Brennan, C. W., Kristan, I., Ljuslin, M., Mazzola, E., Macdonald, D., Murphy, M., Nigam, K. B., Rinaldi, A. D., et al. (2025) · BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care · doi:10.1136/spcare-2025-005773 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Disengaged: A systematic review of community engagement in psychedelic-assisted therapy research
Reid, M. R., Song, J., Boehnke, K. F., Buchanan, N. T., & Aday, J. S. (2025) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2025.106516 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
He, Z., Wang, Y., Chen, J., Cheng, J., Feng, Y., Niu, S., & Yan, J. (2026) · European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience · doi:10.1007/s00406-025-02165-y · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Effinger, D. P., Hoffman, J. L., Quadir, S. G., Rollison, C. S., Toedt, D., Sanchez, M. E., High, M. W., Hodge, C. W., & Herman, M. A. (2026) · Nature Communications · doi:10.1038/s41467-026-71481-1 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
The role of psilocybin in depressive disorders
Najib, J. (2024) · Current Medical Research and Opinion · doi:10.1080/03007995.2024.2396536 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Lewis, B. R., Byrne, K., & Beck, A. C. (2022) · Journal of Anesthesiology and Pain Therapy · doi:10.29245/2768-5365/2023/3.1145 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Palliative Care Embarking on a Long Strange Trip
Fischer, S. M. (2023) · Journal of Palliative Medicine · doi:10.1089/jpm.2023.0611
(2024) · JAMA Oncology · doi:10.1001/jamaoncol.2024.3130
The Use of Psychedelics as an Adjunct to Psychotherapy
Watt, J. S. (2024) · Psychotherapie-Wissenschaft · doi:10.30820/1664-9583-2024-2-53
Humphreys, J., Lukas, L. A., Beaussant, Y., Fischer, S. M., Araujo, T. S., Spence, D., Harris, J. P., Anderson, B. T., & Grob, C. S. (2025) · doi:10.1093/med/9780197760864.003.0002
Rosa, W. E., Napolitano, S., McAndrew, N., Jenkins, B., Lichtenthal, W. G., Applebaum, A. J., BREITBART, W. S., & Agrawal, M. (2025) · Psychedelic Medicine · doi:10.1177/28314425251363983
Self-citationGordon, A. R., Carrithers, B. M., Pagni, B. A., Kettner, H., MRes, A. M., Nayak, S. M., Weiss, B., Carhart-Harris, R. L., Roberts, D. E., Erritzøe, D., et al. (2025) · Psychedelic Medicine · doi:10.1177/28314425251382930
Meshkat, S., Jha, M. K., & Bhat, V. (2026) · FOCUS The Journal of Lifelong Learning in Psychiatry · doi:10.1176/appi.focus.20250043
Leeman, L., Armstrong, M., Menashi, D., Nayo-Washington, H., Marseille, E. A., Herrera, J., Romero, C., & Page‐Reeves, J. (2026) · Frontiers in Public Health · doi:10.3389/fpubh.2026.1845943
Hörnqvist, N. (2026) · Journal of Psychedelic Studies · doi:10.1556/2054.2026.00505
Tsang, V. W. L., Kryskow, P., Watler, C., Allard, P., & Dames, S. (2026) · Frontiers in Public Health · doi:10.3389/fpubh.2026.1767215
Lewis, B. R., Garland, E. L., Schwartz, Z., Xin, Y., Byrne, K., & Brent, K. (2026) · Psychedelics · doi:10.1016/j.psyche.2026.100041
Caution before canonisation: a clinical and implementation science perspective on psychedelics
Paris, A., Thoma, F., Velentza, A., Pavlopoulou, P., & Metaxas, G. (2026) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2026.1922928
- Authors
- Agrawal, M., Emanuel, E., Richards, B., Richards, W., Roddy, K., & Thambi, P.
- Affiliations
- Sunstone Therapies, Rockville, Maryland
- University of Pennsylvania (US)
- Maryland Oncology Hematology (US)
- Corresponding author
- Agrawal, Manish
- Venue
- JAMA Oncology
- Publisher
- American Medical Association (AMA)
- Published
- 2023-06-01
- Volume
- 9
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 864
- ISSN
- 2374-2437 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC10102915
- OpenAlex
- W4365444032
- Cited by
- 51
- References
- 6
- Citations by year
- 2026: 12 · 2025: 19 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 1
- FWCI
- 14.53
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- JAMA Oncology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychedelics and Drug Studies
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Treatment of Major Depression
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › Cancer survivorship and care
- Keywords
- psilocybin, major depressive disorder, cancer patients, psychedelic therapy, depression treatment, group therapy
- MeSH terms
- Depression, Major Depressive Disorder, Humans, Neoplasms, Patients, Psilocybin
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
