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Japanese Journal of Clinical Oncology Advance Access published online on October 19, 2009
Japanese Journal of Clinical Oncology, doi:10.1093/jjco/hyp134
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© The Author (2009). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved

Suicide Associated with Corticosteroid Use During Chemotherapy: Case Report

Yoshihisa Matsumoto1,2, Ken Shimizu2,3, Hiroya Kinoshita1,3, Chikako Shimizu4 and Yosuke Uchitomi3

1 Palliative Care Division, National Cancer Center Hospital East, Chiba
2 Psychiatry Division, National Cancer Center Hospital, Tokyo
3 Psycho-Oncology Division, Research Center for Innovative Oncology, National Cancer Center Hospital East, Chiba
4 Breast and Medical Oncology Division, National Cancer Center Hospital, Tokyo, Japan

For reprints and all correspondence: Yosuke Uchitomi, Psycho-Oncology Division, Research Center for Innovative Oncology, National Cancer Center Hospital East, Street address: 6-5-1 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8577, Japan. E-mail: yuchitom{at}east.ncc.go.jp

Received July 6, 2009; accepted September 10, 2009

Corticosteroids are widely known to have a variety of adverse mental effects. Although corticosteroids are frequently used to prevent vomiting induced by chemotherapeutic agent, their mental effects have received little attention in oncology settings. We report the case of a patient who experienced severe depressive symptoms after both the first and second course of treatment with a corticosteroid during chemotherapy and ultimately committed suicide. The temporal and dose–response relationships suggested a possible association between the depressive symptoms and corticosteroid. We ultimately speculated that corticosteroid withdrawal induced the depressive symptoms in this case. This case should alert clinical oncologists to pay attention to mental symptoms after prescribing a corticosteroid.

Key Words: corticosteroid • mood disorder • suicide • chemotherapy


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