Tricyclics appear to lower risks of certain cancer types (1 study shows)

[Dolphin]

(Tricyclic antidepressants can have negative side effects too)

http://tgr.ph/oKs2K9 i.e.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/8720235/Antidepressants-cut-bowel-and-brain-cancer-risk.html

Start:

By Stephen Adams, Medical Correspondent
6:30AM BST 25 Aug 2011

Antidepressants 'cut bowel and brain cancer risk'

A commonly-prescribed type of antidepressant cuts the risk of bowel cancer by up to a fifth, according to a study of 93,000 people.

Tricyclic antidepressants also reduce the risk of glioma - the most common type of brain cancer - by up to two-thirds, found the study by academics at three British universities.

Taking larger doses for longer increases the preventative effect, the researchers found.

Although the results, based on data from the General Practice Research Database, are startling, it is highly unlikely such drugs would be widely prescribed to those without mental health problems because of their side-effects. Many are sedatives, for example.

Free full text at:
http://bit.ly/qXLwDO i.e.
http://www.nature.com/bjc/journal/v104/n1/full/6605996a.html

Tricyclic antidepressants and the incidence of certain cancers: a study using the GPRD.

Br J Cancer. 2011 Jan 4;104(1):193-7. Epub 2010 Nov 16.

Walker AJ, Card T, Bates TE, Muir K.

Source
Division of Epidemiology and Public Health, School of Community Health Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2UH, UK. mcxajw2@nottingham.ac.uk
Abstract

BACKGROUND:
Several studies suggest links between cancer and tricyclic antidepressant use.

METHODS:
A case-control study using the General Practice Research Database examined whether previous tricyclic usage was associated with reduced incidence of brain (with glioma as a sub-category), breast, colorectal, lung and prostate cancers.

Conditional logistic regression adjusted for age, gender, general practice, depression, smoking, body mass index, alcohol use and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug use.

RESULTS:
A total of 31 953 cancers were identified, each matched with up to two controls.

We found a statistically significant reduction in tricyclic prescriptions compared with controls in glioma (odds ratio (OR) =0.59, 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.42-0.81) and colorectal cancer patients (OR=0.84, CI=0.75-0.94).

These effects were dose-dependent (P-values for trend, glioma=0.0005, colorectal=0.001) and time-dependant (P-values for trend glioma=0.0005, colorectal=0.0086).

The effects were cancer-type specific, with lung, breast and prostate cancers largely unaffected by antidepressant use.

CONCLUSION:
The biologically plausible, specific and dose- and time-dependant inverse association that we have found suggests that tricyclics may have potential for prevention of both colorectal cancer and glioma.

PMID: 21081933 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] PMCID: PMC3039809 [Available on 2012/1/4]