Inflammation in cancer and depression: a starring role for the kynurenine pathway

• Published in: Psychopharmacology Vol. 236; no. 10; pp. 2997 - 3011
• Main Authors: Sforzini, Luca, Nettis, Maria Antonietta, Mondelli, Valeria, Pariante, Carmine Maria
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.10.2019; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Antidepressants; Antidepressive Agents - therapeutic use; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Cancer; Chemotherapy; Comorbidity; Depression - drug therapy; Depression - immunology; Depression - metabolism; Depression, Mental; Enzymes; Humans; Immune system; Immunotherapy; Immunotherapy - methods; Immunotherapy - trends; Indoleamine-Pyrrole 2,3,-Dioxygenase - pharmacology; Indoleamine-Pyrrole 2,3,-Dioxygenase - therapeutic use; Inflammation; Inflammation - drug therapy; Inflammation - immunology; Inflammation - metabolism; Kynurenine - immunology; Kynurenine - metabolism; Mental depression; Neoplasms - drug therapy; Neoplasms - immunology; Neoplasms - metabolism; Neurosciences; Pharmacology/Toxicology; Psychiatry; Receptors, Enterotoxin - immunology; Receptors, Enterotoxin - metabolism; Review; Signal Transduction - drug effects; Signal Transduction - physiology; Systematic review; Tryptophan; United Kingdom; Chemotherapy; Immunotherapy; IDO inhibitors; Kynurenine; Depression; Inflammation; Indoleamine 2-3-dioxygenase; Cancer

Depression is a common comorbidity in cancer cases, but this is not only due to the emotional distress of having a life-threatening disease. A common biological mechanism, involving a dysregulated immune system, seems to underpin this comorbidity. In particular, the activation of the kynurenine path...