From the elderly, to men with erectile disfunction, to college boys who’ve had a few too many drinks, the drug Sildenafil, better known as Viagra, is used and abused. This seemingly harmless drug which hit the market in 1998, and until recently was believed to have little to no side effects. However, recent studies, such as the one published in JAMA Internal Medicine, have shown a shockingly strong correlation between the regular use of Viagra and contraction of the deadly skin cancer Melanoma. According to JAMA, Viagra may have nearly doubled melanoma risk in an estimated 45 million men who opted to take the drug since it hit the market.

The Melanoma Research Foundation describes melanoma as usually, however not always, skin cancer that begins in melanocytes, pigment-producing cells in the skin, that synthesize melanin, which is the pigment that gives skin its color. Melanocytes are the cells responsible for the formation of moles, which is a hub where melanoma often develops. Melanoma can even rarely develop in mucus membranes or eyes, rather than the skin. How can this effect you or I? An estimated 77,000 cases of melanoma die each year, and the disease causes nearly 10,000 deaths in the US alone. This adds up to one person dying every hour of every day all from this terrible disease. While this is one of the fastest growing cancers in the U.S. as well as around the world, and affects people of all ages, melanoma is seen mostly in men over the age of 50.

Viagra is the most common, but not only, phosphodiesterase type 5(PDE5) inhibitor. PDE5 inhibitors cause vasodilation in the penis and lung by blocking the breakdown of cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) which results in prolongation of the action of mediators of vasodilation including nitric oxide (NO). Until 2008, there was zero known correlation between PDE5 inhibitors and the disease melanoma until Qing Li’s research which began in 1986 came to a conclusion and the data from 51,000 males from ages 40 to 75 was released showing this shocking correlation. (Studies were not preformed on younger specimen because the vast majority of the products users are middle-aged and elderly men.)

As this research became more prevalent starting around 2000, bi-annual surveys have been taken all around the US. The final report of which was published in the June, 2014 edition of JAMA International Medicine, based on survey responses from 25,848 men averaging 64 years of age. Of those 25,848 men, 6.3 percent reported use of Viagra and 5.8 acknowledged recent use of the drug. During the study period, 142 malignant melanomas were diagnosed. Although this may not seem like a significant number, it is scaled at an 84% increase in risk of contracting melanoma compared to if 25,848 men with no contact to Viagra were observed. Watch out next time you need a boost in bed, you might be risking your life. 

Sources:

http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/erectile-dysfunction-drugs-skin-cancer-worry-201406057197

http://www.drugwatch.com/viagra/melanoma/