May the SSRIs play a role in the onset of peri- and post-menopausal cervical cancer?

Abstract

The emergence of cancer-causing bacteria and viruses that have become resistant to either antibiotics or viral treatment is often attributed to their overuse in people and livestock. Intriguingly, the class of antidepressant drugs, such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), may also contribute to generating resistant microorganisms with a profound disturbing role in local cervix-vagina homeostasis. Therefore, we proposed the possible involvement of SSRIs in the onset and growth of cervical cancer (CC), which is based on some empirical considerations, (i) the number of women diagnosed with post-menopausal CC is almost equivalent to the number of women diagnosed with depressive problems, (ii) the proven affection of SSRIs on both vaginal and intestinal microbiota, (iii) the essential role of the microbiota in the immune response against oncogenic pathogens, including human papillomavirus and Chlamydia trachomatis (C. trachomatis), (IV) the role of SSRIs in favoring the rise of antibiotic-resistant microorganisms, and (V) the inhibitory effect of SSRIs in the estradiol-serotonin-prolactin axis. These features are important in the overproduction of reactive oxygen species, responsible for different harmful activities such as higher cell membrane permeability and porosity, hyperstimulation of transcription, and translational activities, with overall stress on check-point genes involved in ATP synthesis, DNA breaks, and abnormal mutations. This paper's results suggested reconsidering the efficacy of SSRIs on long-term use since the overall increase in prescriptions is mainly due to long-term treatment rather than the diagnoses per se, secondly little is known about the consequences of long-term use. The evidence that supports the role of antidepressant drugs in increasing the risk of CC was searched and discussed.