Cancers

A Phase II, Open-Label Clinical Trial of Intranasal Ketamine for Depression in Patients with Cancer Receiving Palliative Care (INKeD-PC Study)

In an open‑label phase II trial of intranasal racemic ketamine (50–150 mg) given over one week to 20 advanced‑cancer palliative care patients with moderate–severe major depressive disorder, 70% achieved ≥50% MADRS response and 45% achieved remission by Day 8, with mean MADRS falling from 31 to 11 (p<0.001) and partial maintenance to Day 14. Treatment was feasible and generally well tolerated—adverse effects were mostly mild and transient—supporting larger randomised controlled trials.

Published

January 7, 2023

Journal

Cancers

Authors

Rosenblat, J. D., deVries, F. E., Doyle, Z., McIntyre, R. S., Rodin, G., Zimmermann, C., Mak, E., Hannon, B., Schulz-Quach, C., Kindy, A. A., Patel, Z., Li, M.