Viagra Blamed for Skin Cancer Diagnosis

Los Angeles, CAAllegations of failure to warn of the risk for melanoma allegedly associated with the erectile dysfunction drug Viagra, have been made in a product liability lawsuit filed against the drug’s maker, Pfizer.

In his Viagra lawsuit, Edward Corboy Jr., is claiming that Pfizer knew or should have known about the link between Viagra and melanoma skin cancer prior to his diagnosis. The allegations are based on a study published earlier this year in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Internal Medicine, which showed that men who took Viagra (sildenafil), had an 84% increased risk for a melanoma diagnosis, compared to men who didn’t use the drug.

In their study, the researchers from Harvard Medical School hypothesized that Viagra lowers levels of a protein called PDE5A, which protects against cancer. This, in turn, results in melanoma skin cancer cells becoming more invasive. Melanoma is curable if caught in its early stages. However, once it has spread beyond the skin to the local lymph nodes treatment becomes difficult and the cancer can be fatal.

Corboy alleges that he was prescribed Viagra in 2008 for treatment erectile dysfunction, and in December 2012 he was diagnosed with melanoma, a potentially lethal form of skin cancer. Corboy claims he would not have used Viagra had he known of the risk for skin cancer.

A growing number of men throughout the US are pursuing potential Viagra melanoma lawsuits after being diagnosed with the skin cancer, They claim that if consumers or the medical community had been adequately warned of the risk for melanoma by the drug maker, they may have chosen not to use the medication or be more closely monitored for early signs of skin problems while using the drug.

Viagra has also been linked to vision loss due to a condition called nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION).