Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and immune checkpoint blockade in solid tumors: A target trial emulation with pan-cancer transcriptomic analyses

Source briefing · A concise briefing based on one linked source. It is intentionally shorter than a full FreedomWitness Evidence Engine analysis.

What the source reports

by Po-Huang Chen, Ming-Shen Dai, Mao-Hsuan Huang, Hsin-Yu Chen, Li-Ting Kao, Tina Yi-Jin Hsieh, Hong-Jie Jhou, Cho-Hao Lee Background Preclinical evidence identifies the serotonin transporter (SERT, encoded by SLC6A4) as an immune checkpoint on CD8+ T cells, with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) enhancing antitumor immunity in synergy with anti-programmed cell death protein 1 (anti-PD-1) therapy. Whether this translates into clinical benefit for patients receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) is unknown.

Using a target trial emulation framework, we compared outcomes between SSRI users…

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Source & verification

Primary source: PLOS Medicine · September 29, 2026

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