Study: Anti-Depressants Put Breast Cancer Survivors At Risk

The bad news for anti-depressants continues to roll out. In a study presented over the weekend at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's annual meeting, in Orlando, Fla., researchers from Medco, a health benefits analysis company, reported that breast cancer survivors taking an anti-depressant to mute hot flashes caused by tamoxifen, a commonly used breast cancer medication, have the benefits of tamoxifen blocked by the anti-depressant and are at-risk of a recurrence of the cancer. From what I've read so far, it sounds as if the anti-depressants in question are mostly SSRIs (Prozac, Paxil, etc.). I should caution that these findings have not been published yet, so they've not gone through formal peer review yet, but since they were accepted at a conference you can assume that they'll wind up being published soon enough.

Confoundingly, a second study presented at the same conference found no anti-depressant/tamoxifen problems, but researchers still said women ought to consult with their doctors about other ways to manage hot flashes. There are an estimated 192,569 new cases of breast cancer in the US each year, according to the American Cancer Society.

What's striking to me--besides the results of the first study--is that there have been numerous studies published in the last 18 months or so reporting problems with anti-depressants on several different fronts: last month there were studies outlining increased risks of birth defects associated with anti-depresant use and an increased risk of diabetes associated with anti-depressant use (neither of the two studies got a column inch of media attention); in March, a study linked anti-depressant use to sudden cardiac death in women (again, there was little media attention to that aspect of the study and, separately, you've got to wonder if there are heart issues for men with anti-depressant use); last year, a fascinating study asserted that a large amount of anti-depressants supposed efficacy was actually due to placebo effect (zero press attention here); and, also last year, two different studies established that anti-depressant efficacy was much less than previously claimed due to pharma companies hiding negative trials data from the public and doctors (lots of press attention for one of the two articles).

The findings on anti-depressants and tamoxifen did get quite a bit of attention on the wires over the weekend, but one has to wonder why some of these others studies haven't. I don't want to question anyone in the mainstream media's motivations, but it seems quite odd to me that some of these studies get a ton of attention and some do not.

Anyway, even with the matter of anti-depressant-induced suicidality aside, I'm beginning to ponder why some doctors and psychiatrists remain so enthusiastic about anti-depressants. They strike me as an incredibly weak technology that produces problems by the boatload, so why are 30 million people taking them in the US every day?