Review of pharmacological treatment of depression in patients with primary brain tumour and proposal of modification in management strategy

Abstract

This brief paper describes the challenges with treatment of depression in brain tumour patients particularly in the absence of any currently accepted guidelines for treating this perculiar subset of patients. The proposal offered here is to move to pharmacologic treatment with other modalities in a methodical pattern only after surgical intervention. This is because simply treating with medications based on physician / patient choice as currently recommended may not achieve optimal results in majority of cases in view of the multiple aetiological factors that interplay. A flowchart treatment plan is presented to guide management in a streamlined fashion.