Antidepressants May Cut Cancer Risks

By Emma Koonse, Christian Post Reporter Friday, August 26, 2011

A new study has said that taking antidepressants can minimize bowel cancer and brain tumors, the Press Association reported Friday.

Tricyclic drugs, which most antidepressant drugs consist of, have proved to reduce the risk of glioma- a type of tumor that grows on the brain and spine, by between 41 percent and 64 percent. Glioma is often caused by genetic disorders that are normally hereditary.

Also, tricylic drugs have been reported to cut the risk of colorectal, or bowel cancer, by 16 percent to 21 percent, according to researchers in the U.K.

Published in the British Journal of Cancer, the study reveals that drugs such as amoxapine, nortiptyline, and trimipramine- all tricyclic drugs – shed a positive light for the nearly 8 percent of Americans that are estimated to get bowel cancer within their lifetimes.

Tricyclic drugs are often prescribed to those suffering from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder, migraines, as well as depression. Treatments must be taken in a fairly high dosage for the cancer-cutting effect to take place.

The study was conducted by experts at the universities of Nottingham, Warwick, and Lincoln, and looked at almost 32,000 cases of cancer. After analyzing the affects of tricyclic drugs on patients, experts concluded that risk of glioma and bowel cancer, but had no effect on lung, breast, or prostrate cancers.

Researcher from the University of Lincoln, Dr. Tim Bates, said that tricyclic drugs will not deliver the same results for everyone.

Patients who are more susceptible to certain cancers or glioma should consider undergoing DNA screening and possibly be prescribed the drugs, according to the Press Association.

Bowel cancer is caused by abnormal cell growth in the colon, rectum, or vermiform appendix. It is clinically different from anal cancer, which affects the anus. It left untreated, bowel cancer can develop in the muscle layers of the lining of the bowel.

The third most frequently diagnosed cancer in the world, bowel cancer is more commonly found patients who live in developed countries.

Diet, age, hereditary, and viruses, among many other factors, can all affect a person’s likelihood of developing cancer.