“Scientists find Prozac 'link' to brain tumours” was the headline in the Independent newspaper on 26 March as it reported the results of work by John Gordon (Birmingham University, UK) and colleagues. Unsurprisingly, the suggestion that patients taking certain antidepressants might be at increased risk of some types of cancer caused something of a scare — and both pharmaceutical companies and scientists were at pains to point out that there is absolutely no evidence for such a link.

The root of the story was the finding, published in Blood, that serotonin could enter lymphoma cells in vitro and cause them to die. Selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) interfered with the uptake of serotonin into the cells, and thus prevented their deaths. This led to the idea that patients taking SSRIs, such as Prozac, might be at increased risk of brain tumours.

Several media sources carried stories the next day refuting the suggestion that Prozac and other SSRIs used as antidepressants could increase the risk of brain tumours — for example, BBC News Online (27 March) carried a quote from Gordon saying, “I have looked at a number of large-scale studies looking specifically at these drugs in relation to cancer, and there is nothing to suggest that they increase cancer risk.” Gordon urged patients to continue taking their drugs, amid fears that patients suffering from severe depression could, in extreme cases, commit suicide if they suddenly stopped taking antidepressants.