Rapid and sustained symptom reduction following psilocybin treatment for anxiety and depression in patients with life-threatening cancer
A single psilocybin dose produced immediate, substantial, and sustained reductions in cancer-related anxiety and depression, with antidepressant and anxiolytic effects persisting at 6.5 months in the majority of participants.
- Institution
- NYU Langone
- Design
- Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover
- Sample size
- 29 participants
- Intervention
- Single 0.3 mg/kg psilocybin vs. niacin active control, crossover
- Year
- 2016
- Condition
- Cancer-related anxiety and depression
Small sample; niacin is an imperfect blind; participants were carefully screened, limiting generalizability.
Published simultaneously with the Hopkins cancer trial, the NYU study independently reached strikingly similar conclusions. The convergence of two separate teams on the same finding is part of why the end-of-life evidence base is considered unusually robust.
Summary written by MMI Editorial for clarity. Always consult the primary source for full methodology and results. Confidence rating reflects our assessment of evidence strength.