Clinical trials / Cancer and end-of-life distress
Recruiting psychedelic and ketamine trials for cancer-related and end-of-life distress
14 trials registered on ClinicalTrials.gov were recruiting on 26 Oct 2026, 8 of them at sites in the United States (7 states). By substance: Psilocybin 8, Ketamine / esketamine 5, MDMA 1, LSD 1.
From the ClinicalTrials.gov registry (US National Library of Medicine), read through its public API on 26 Oct 2026: studies marked as recruiting whose interventions name the substance. Titles, sponsors, phases, conditions and sites are the registry's own entries, written by the sponsors. We have not vetted any trial, and recruiting status changes; the registry record and the study team have the current eligibility rules.
Trials with US sites
Phase 2Psilocybin, Ketamine / esketamineNCT05403086
Pragmatic Trial of Psilocybin Therapy in Palliative Care (PT2PC)
- Conditions:
- Demoralization
- Sponsor:
- Charles S. Grob, M.D.
- Who:
- ages 18 Years and over, 100 participants planned
- Marin Cancer Care, Greenbrae, California
- University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
- University of San Francisco, San Francisco, California
- Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Torrance, California
- Sunstone Therapies, Rockville, Maryland
Phase 2/3PsilocybinNCT05398484
Psilocybin Therapy in Advanced Cancer
- Conditions:
- Advanced Cancer
- Sponsor:
- NYU Langone Health
- Who:
- ages 21 Years to 100 Years, 200 participants planned
Phase 1PsilocybinNCT06430541
Study of Psilocybin Assisted Psychotherapy to Address Fear of Recurrence
- Conditions:
- Breast Cancer; Ovarian Cancer
- Sponsor:
- University of Colorado, Denver
- Who:
- ages 21 Years and over, 20 participants planned
Phase 1/2Ketamine / esketamineNCT05156060
Gabapentin & Ketamine for Prevention/Treatment of Acute/Chronic Pain in Locally Advanced Head and Neck Cancer
- Conditions:
- Head and Neck Cancer; Locally Advanced Head and Neck Carcinoma
- Sponsor:
- Natalie Lockney
- Who:
- ages 21 Years and over, 64 participants planned
- Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Nashville, Tennessee
Phase 2MDMANCT05584826
MDMA-assisted Therapy for Adjustment Disorder (AD) in Dyads of Patients With Cancer and a Concerned Significant Other
- Conditions:
- Cancer; Adjustment Disorders
- Sponsor:
- Sunstone Medical
- Who:
- ages 18 Years and over, 20 participants planned
- Sunstone Medical, PC, Rockville, Maryland
Phase 2PsilocybinNCT06001749
Psilocybin in Cancer Pain Study
- Conditions:
- Opioid-Related Disorders; Pain Management; Pain Management and Care; Advanced Cancer; Advanced Cancers
- Sponsor:
- Yvan Beaussant, MD, MSci
- Who:
- ages 18 Years and over, 15 participants planned
- Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts
Phase 2PsilocybinNCT06200155
Psilocybin-Assisted Psychotherapy in Patients With Advanced Cancer on Maintenance Therapy
- Conditions:
- Depression, Anxiety; Psilocybin-Assisted Psychotherapy; Advanced Cancer
- Sponsor:
- M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
- Who:
- ages 25 Years and over, 48 participants planned
- MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
Phase 2PsilocybinNCT06801041
TRIPS - Treatment to Improve Depression and/or Anxiety Using Psilocybin-assisted Psychotherapy in Cancer Survivors
- Conditions:
- Depression; Anxiety; Cancer
- Sponsor:
- M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
- Who:
- ages 18 Years and over, 20 participants planned
- The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
Trials outside the United States
Phase 2LSDNCT05883540
Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD) in Palliative Care (LPC)
- Conditions:
- Palliative Care; Pain; Anxiety; Depression; Demoralization; Psychological Distress; Quality of Life; Caregiver Burden; Fear of Death; Existential Distress
- Sponsor:
- University Hospital, Basel, Switzerland
- Who:
- ages 22 Years and over, 60 participants planned
- Where:
- Switzerland
Phase not statedKetamine / esketamineNCT06272461
Comparison of Intravenous Lidocaine vs Ketamine in Colorectal Surgery
- Conditions:
- Colorectal (Colon or Rectal) Cancer; Inflammation
- Sponsor:
- University Tunis El Manar
- Who:
- ages 18 Years to 90 Years, 50 participants planned
- Where:
- Tunisia
Phase not statedKetamine / esketamineNCT06773143
Effect of Subanesthetic Dose of Esketamine on Sleep Quality (EOSDOEOSQ)
- Conditions:
- Insomnia; Breast Cancer Surgery; Esketamine
- Sponsor:
- Nanjing First Hospital, Nanjing Medical University
- Who:
- ages 18 Years to 65 Years, 184 participants planned
- Where:
- China
Phase 1PsilocybinNCT06818994
Safety and Efficacy of Psilocybin-assisted Psychotherapy for Demoralization Syndrome in Patients Diagnosed With Advanced Stage Cancer
- Conditions:
- Demoralization; Safety
- Sponsor:
- Gustavo Vazquez
- Who:
- ages 18 Years to 70 Years, 15 participants planned
- Where:
- Canada
Phase 2PsilocybinNCT07072728
Psilocybin-Assisted Psychotherapy in Cancer Patients With Adjustment Disorder
- Conditions:
- Adjustment Disorder; Adjustment Disorder With Anxious Mood; Cancer; Cancer Cachexia; Cancer of Endometrium; Cancer of Kidney; Cancer of Prostate; Cancer of the Breast; Cancer of Stomach; Cancer Melanoma Skin; Cancer Pancreas
- Sponsor:
- Psyence Australia Pty Ltd
- Who:
- ages 18 Years to 80 Years, 87 participants planned
- Where:
- Australia
Early phase 1Ketamine / esketamineNCT07408193
The Role of Coadministration of Lidocaine and Ketamine in Opioid-Refractory Chronic Cancer-Related Pain.
- Conditions:
- Opioid-Refractory Chronic Cancer-Related Pain
- Sponsor:
- National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
- Who:
- ages 18 Years and over, 24 participants planned
- Where:
- Greece