A pilot study has found that antidepressants can considerably reduce the risk of depression for head and neck cancer patients.
Researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center showed that only 15 percent of head and neck cancer patients who took antidepressants as part of their treatment experienced depression.
That's a hopeful sign considering that 50 percent of the patients in the study group who didn't take antidepressants experienced depression, said lead researchers William Lydiatt, M.D., and Bill Burke, M.D.
These statistics offer hope for head and neck cancer patients, said Dr. Lydiatt, division director of head and neck surgical oncology in the department of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery, because depression is the number one reason head and neck cancer patients don't complete treatment.
"This is a potentially important study and result because it shows for the first time that depression can be prevented for those with head and neck cancer," Dr. Lydiatt said.
After seeing the results of the pilot study, the NIH granted the UNMC team 1.6 million pounds to expand the study.
While head and neck cancer patients represent a fairly small percentage of those with cancer, they do account for an extraordinarily high percentage of cancer-patient suicides, said Dr. Burke, professor of psychiatry.
For example, he said, patients with tongue and larynx cancer compose only 2 percent of all cancer cases but they account for about 20 percent of suicides committed by cancer patients.
A variety of reasons exist for the increased rates of depression in head and neck cancer patients, Dr. Burke said, including arduous treatment regimens; surgery and complications that interfere with eating and talking; and the psychological affects of having visible wounds left by the cancer.
"Our study shows that we may be able to get out in front of depression in head and neck cancer patients and improve their chances of completing the needed treatment," Dr. Burke said.
The findings from the study also may have implications in terms of helping those with other forms of cancer avoid depression, Dr. Lydiatt said.
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