Psilocybin in Palliative Care: An Update.

Psilocybin, a tryptamine psychedelic found in certain mushrooms, shows promise for alleviating emotional and spiritual distress in palliative care patients. A review of recent research and field reports indicates that psilocybin has significant and sometimes sustained anxiolytic, antidepressant, anti-inflammatory, and entheogenic effects with a favorable safety profile. However, the research has limitations, including selection bias toward healthy, white, financially privileged individuals and follow-up periods too short to assess long-term psychospiritual benefits and quality of life. Major legal, ethical, and financial barriers to access exist, likely worsened for geriatric and palliative care patients. More large-scale controlled trials are needed.

Study at a glance

Abstract

This review article summarizes clinically and socially relevant developments over the past five years in the therapeutic use of the classical tryptamine psychedelic substance psilocybin, with respect to the common challenges faced by palliative care patients and their care teams. Psilocybin is available in whole fungal and isolated forms but is not yet approved for therapeutic use in the United States. Using targeted database and gray literature searches, and author recall, key sources were identified, reviewed, and synthesized as to the safety and efficacy of psilocybin in palliative care. Life-threatening or life-limiting illnesses and faced by palliative care patients are comorbid with emotional and spiritual distress. Research and field reports reviewed suggest that psilocybin has significant and in some cases, sustained anxiolytic, antidepressant, anti-inflammatory and entheogenic effects with a favorable safety profile. Limitations of the research include the risk for selection bias toward healthy, white, financially privileged individuals, and in general, follow-up timelines too short to appropriately evaluate durability of outcomes in psychospiritual benefits and quality of life. While more research is needed for palliative care populations specifically, reasonable inferences can be made regarding the potential for benefit to palliative care patients from psilocybin's demonstrated anxiolytic, antidepressant, anti-inflammatory and entheogenic effects. However, major legal, ethical and financial barriers to access exist for the general population; obstacles which are likely worsened for geriatric and palliative care patients. Empiric treatment and large-scale controlled trials of psilocybin should be conducted to further investigate the findings of the smaller studies reviewed here across a variety of populations, for a greater understanding of therapeutic benefit and clinically relevant safety criteria, and to support thoughtful legalization and medical access.