[Antidepressants as additional drugs for human brain gliomas]

Glioblastoma (GB) is the most aggressive malignant brain tumor. To date, there is no optimal treatment approach for this disease. Antidepressants with antitumor effects are one of the new therapeutic directions. A distinctive feature of these drugs is their approval for clinical practice in the treatment of depressive disorders.

To analyze available literature data on mechanisms of antitumor action and advisability of antidepressants for GB.

We reviewed the databases using the keywords «glioma», «antidepressants», «drug repurposing».

According to numerous preclinical studies, activity of antidepressants at the cellular level is aimed at enhancing apoptosis and autophagy, inhibiting the cell cycle, differentiating and/or maintaining the stem cell status, as well as migrating tumor cells.

Available data can substantiate further experimental and clinical studies, as well as searching for therapeutic combinations using antidepressants for the treatment of human gliomas.