Pilot Study: Fluvoxamine Treatment for Depression and Anxiety Disorders in Children and Adolescents with Cancer

To evaluate the safety, tolerability, and benefit of fluvoxamine for the treatment of major depressive disorder or anxiety disorders in children and adolescents with cancer. The study was conducted from 2001 to 2004 at a pediatric hematology-oncology center. Fifteen children and adolescents with cancer were treated with fluvoxamine 100 mg/day in an open prospective 8-week trial. Safety and tolerability were evaluated at baseline and at weeks 4 and 8 by blood tests and the Side Effects Checklist. Clinical benefit was assessed with the Clinical Global Impressions-Improvement, the Children's Depression Rating Scale-Revised, and the Pediatric Anxiety Rating Scale. Fluvoxamine was well tolerated by all subjects. Psychiatric symptoms improved significantly. In this open trial, fluvoxamine appeared to be well tolerated and was associated with a promising reduction in the depression and anxiety symptoms of pediatric patients with cancer.