The “Little Blue Pill,” Pfizer’s most popular prescription drug, changed the entire landscape of erectile dysfunction treatment in one fell swoop. Developed in 1998, the drug directly addressed a condition that once carried a great deal of stigma and entirely too few solutions, but researchers had no intention of doing so initially. Viagra, as it would happen, was actually intended to treat hypertension and chest pain. So how did it come to treat erectile dysfunction? And why does it work? Viagra, known clinically as sildenafil, is among a class of drug called PDE5 inhibitors.
These drugs block the PDE-5 enzyme and relax smooth muscle tissue. It works throughout the entire body, which is why researchers assumed that it would be an effective treatment option for hypertension. The researchers began clinical trials and found that it was actually significantly more effective at inducing erections. Seeing that this met an important consumer need, Pfizer repurposed the drug. It was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1998 and was promoted directly to consumers. Viagra grew in popularity and in revenue faster than any drug the pharmaceutical company had every launched.
PDE5 Inhibitors Help Blood Flow
Why did the combat erectile dysfunction so effectively? Its smooth-muscle-relaxing properties meant that it increased blood flow to the area, allowing men who suffered from conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes, enlarged prostate, depression, and stress to rectify the problem without the use of a needle or vacuum. In essence, it worked on nearly any patient, regardless of his individual erectile dysfunction cause.
The pill was inherently more discreet than other options on the market, and it worked in a staggering 7 out of 10 men. It usually takes 30 minutes or so to work and was effective for four hours. When taking Viagra, men still have to become sexually stimulated on their own account before the drug will work, but it has become the first line of treatment for nearly all cases of ED.
A unique property of Viagra is that it is continuously running through your system, meaning its efficacy increases with its usage. In the wake of such high success rates and an expired patent, new PDE5 inhibitors have joined Viagra on the market. And although PDE5 inhibitors may have been redirected towards ED in Viagra’s case, they are also used to treat conditions like pulmonary arterial hypertension. This means that more men than ever are taking PDE5 inhibitors, and they’re doing so for longer durations of time.
PDE5 Inhibitors and Melanoma
Viagra isn’t for everyone, however. In order for it to effectively relax smooth muscle, said smooth muscle tissue has to exist. Unfortunately, conditions like high cholesterol and diabetes can degrade the muscles mass entirely over time, making the drug completely ineffective. Certain medications, such as alpha-blockers and prescriptions with nitrates, lower blood pressure sometimes fatally when taken in conjunction with PDE5 inhibitors.
For men who can take Viagra (and benefit from it), there are still certain side effects to watch for—but no consumer thought the drug could double their risk of developing melanoma.
If the correlation between Viagra and skin cancer seems unlikely to you, you are not alone. No studies were even performed on the possible connection until 2008 when nearly a decade of research culminated on Viagra patients culminated in a report that would point to one previously unseen PDE5 inhibitor risk: invasiveness.
It should be clarified that Viagra and other ED drugs do not cause melanoma at its outset; skin cancer is inherently an effect of UV exposure, and the initial cancerous cells are not caused by the prescription drug. It appears, however, that the inhibition of PDE5 means that the cells can more quickly and efficiently accelerate throughout the body, making a relatively easy-to-treat Stage 1 case much more serious and life-threatening. Research has not yet been conducted on any of the other PDE5 inhibitors on the market, but additional studies are being conducted to assess their safety and widespread risk.
Assessing Your Own Risk
It’s unclear where research will lead from here, but it’s unlikely that the drug will be pulled from the market anytime soon. That being said, it’s important that your doctor assesses you thoroughly for past UV exposure, examines you for current signs of melanoma and discusses your other options with you before prescribing the drug. Should you begin taking Viagra, it’s very important that you see a dermatologist regularly and perform regular self-exams to mitigate your risk.
Unfortunately, anyone who has taken Viagra faces an 84% higher risk of melanoma acceleration due to the enduring effects of the drug. If you or someone you know has previously taken Viagra, even briefly, and has since been diagnosed with melanoma, you may be eligible to file a lawsuit. Get a free, two-minute evaluation to see if you may qualify for a no-obligation consultation with an attorney about your injuries.
Lori Polemenakos is Director of Consumer Content and SEO strategist for LeadingResponse, a legal marketing company. An award-winning journalist, writer and editor based in Dallas, Texas, she's produced articles for major brands such as Match.com, Yahoo!, MSN, AOL, Xfinity, Mail.com, and edited several published books. Since 2016, she's published hundreds of articles about Social Security disability, workers' compensation, veterans' benefits, personal injury, mass tort, auto accident claims, bankruptcy, employment law and other related legal issues.