Roscoe, J. A., Morrow, G. R., Hickok, J. T., Mustian, K. M., Griggs, J. J., Matteson, S. E., . . . Smith, B. (2005). Effect of paroxetine hydrochloride (Paxil) on fatigue and depression in breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, 89, 243–249.
Patients were given oral paroxetine 20 mg daily beginning seven days after the initiation of the first cycle of chemotherapy for newly diagnosed breast cancer and continued until seven days following their fourth cycle of chemotherapy or placebo. Randomization was stratified by type of chemotherapy regimen to achieve a balanced design.
Patients were recruited from a university medical center and two of its affiliated hospitals.
Patients were undergoing the active treatment phase of care.
The study was a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.
Controlling for baseline fatigue scores, there were no statistically significant differences in fatigue or fatigue interference between the treatment and control groups. There was no relationship between anemia and fatigue at baseline, although changes in anemia over the course of the study were modestly but significantly correlated with one measure of fatigue.
There were costs related to drug acquisition.