title: A systematic review and meta-analysis of prescribing practices of antidepressants in cancer patients.
abstract: Antidepressants are commonly used for the pharmacological treatment of depression. We aimed to summarise the prevalence of antidepressant prescription to cancer patients, and differences by study or patient characteristics.
  
  
  
  PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Scopus and psychINFO were searched using keywords 'psychotropic', 'antidepressants', 'prescription' and 'cancer'. Prevalence of antidepressants, type, dose and follow-up of antidepressants and prescriber details were extracted.
  
  
  
  Overall, 1537 articles between 1979 and February 2015 were found, 38 met the inclusion criteria and were reviewed according to PRISMA guidelines. The prevalence rate of prescribing antidepressants to cancer patients was 15.6% (95% CI = 13.3-18.3). Prescription was significantly less common in studies from Asia (7.4%; 95% CI = 4.3-12.5), more common in female (22.6%; 95% CI = 16.0-31.0) or breast cancer patients (22.6%; 95% CI = 16.0-30.9). Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors were the most frequently prescribed antidepressants. General practitioners and psychiatrists, followed by oncologists, were identified as the major providers of antidepressant prescriptions to cancer patients. Few studies reported the exact dose, length of time drugs were prescribed for or follow-up regimens.
  
  
  
  There is considerable variation in the prescribing patterns of antidepressants across the world, with few studies reporting robust data on exact dose or follow-up regimens. Prospective studies that monitor antidepressant prescribing, including details of reasons for prescribing and the healthcare providers involved, dose, change in dose or type of medication and follow-up are needed to ascertain whether patients are being treated optimally and if side effects or drug-drug interactions are identified and managed. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health and Social Work, Institute for Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia.
authors.forename: Saira
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sanjida
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health and Social Work, Institute for Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia.
authors.forename: Monika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Janda
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kissane
authors.affiliation: Psycho-oncology Co-operative Research Group, School of Psychology, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Joanne
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shaw
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Pharmacy, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Sallie-Anne
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Pearson
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health and Social Work, Institute for Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia.
authors.forename: Tracey
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: DiSipio
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Australia.|Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Jeremy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Couper
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D011307:Drug Prescriptions; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology*; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D000928:Antidepressive Agents; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors