Viagra Cancer Risk Highlighted in Studies Since At Least 2011

Austin Kirk

By Austin Kirk
Posted April 16, 2015

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Concerns over a possible link between Viagra and cancer first caught public attention last summer, after a study was published involving men diagnosed with melanoma. However, research linking the blockbuster erectile dysfunction drug to the serious and potentially deadly form of skin cancer date back several years. 

Viagra (sildenafil citrate) is one of the most well-known prescription medications in the United States. Since it was introduced by Pfizer in 1998, it has been aggressively marketed for erectile dysfunction and used by millions of men to improve sexual performance.

Although it is widely believed to be a safe medication, there have been concerns that Viagra may cause skin cancer due to its role as a phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor (PDE5A). Researchers are now questioning previous beliefs that tumor growth may be inhibited by these types of drugs, which also include other blockbuster ED treatments like Cialis.

Viagra Cancer Studies

Viagra Cancer Lawyers

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In April 2014, Harvard Researchers published a study in the medical journal JAMA Internal Medicine, which highlighted the risk of skin cancer from Viagra, indicating that users may be 84% more likely to be diagnosed with melanoma.

In January 2015, a study published in the The Journal of Urology found that men taking Viagra faced an increased risk of prostate cancer returning after they appeared to have beaten the disease. Researchers found that PDE5A inhibitors like Viagra, Cialis and other ED drugs appear to increase the risk of prostate cancer recurrence by 38%.

These recent findings come years after the first study suggesting there may be a link between melanoma and Viagra use.

In January 2011, U.K. researchers published a study in the medical journal Cancer Cell warning that PDE5A drugs “stimulate a dramatic increase in melanoma cell invasion.” The study focused on the drug class that includes Viagra, warning that the medications may cause an increase in short-term and long-term colonization of the lungs by melanoma cells.

That study was followed by another conducted by Chinese researchers and published in August 2012, which had similar findings and specifically warned about a potential problem with erectile dysfunction drugs. That study was published in the Journal of Cell Biochemistry. Researchers warned at that time that PDE5A inhibitors could increase cellular cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) levels, linking increased melanoma risk to Viagra and Levitra due to a process known as melanin synthesis.

Viagra Melanoma Lawsuits

Pfizer now faces a growing number of Viagra cancer lawsuits being pursued on behalf of men diagnosed with melanoma throughout the U.S., which allege that the drug maker failed to adequately warn consumers and the medical community and the risks associated with the blockbuster medication, withholding information about the link to melanoma so that they may avoid a negative impact on sales.

Plaintiffs allege that based on the early studies involving PDE5A drugs, Pfizer knew or should have known for years that Viagra could increase the risk of melanoma cancer for years, yet has chosen not to provide label warnings that may have allowed men to evaluate the risk and detect the skin cancer at an early and treatable stage.

The American Cancer Society indicates that melanoma is diagnosed in about 69,000 Americans each year and causes about 8,650 deaths annually. The skin cancer usually manifests as unusual moles or patches of skin.

While it is often curable if caught early, once melanoma has spread beyond the skin and local lymph nodes, treatment is difficult and it may ultimately result in death.

To review whether you or a loved one may be entitled to financial compensation as a result of Pfizer’s failure to adequately warn about the Viagra melanoma risks, Request a free consultation and claim evaluation.

1 Comment • Add Your Comments

  • Paul says:

    prostate cancer and eye trouble.

    Posted on December 29, 2017 at 8:19 am

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