According to a recent study, erectile dysfunction treatments like Viagra, Cialis, and Levitra may increase a man’s risk of developing melanoma, a dangerous form of skin cancer.

This discovery could have a wide impact on the pharmaceutical community as it is estimated that over 23 million men have been prescribed Viagra worldwide to treat erectile dysfunction (ED) since its U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval in 1998.

While some erectile dysfunction drug side effects, including vision complications and hearing loss, while taking Viagra, Cialis, and Levitra have been well documented, the link between these popular virility drugs and melanoma is a new discovery.

The study was conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health and was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) earlier this year.

According to the Harvard study, men who use Viagra or other similar medication to treat erectile dysfunction are at a significantly higher risk of developing melanoma. These findings hold true even when other melanoma cancer risk factors were accounted for, including family history of melanoma skin cancer, sun exposure, and the participant’s state’s UV ray intensity.

While this JAMA study does not prove a cause and effect pattern between consumption of Viagra, Cialis, and Levitra and development of melanoma skin cancer, it does bring into focus the various biological ways in which melanoma develops.

While the exact biological causes of melanoma skin cancer are quite complex, one cause has to do with hyperactivation of biological pathways responsible for the increase and survival of melanoma cells.

This hyperactivation is generally regulated by a human protein called BRAF and according to the Harvard study, 50 percent of melanoma tumors contain some kind of BRAF mutation.

As it so happens, researchers have discovered that BRAF and Viagra inhibit the same protein-coding enzyme called PDE5A. Based on this discovery, scientists speculate that by inhibiting this enzyme, Viagra and its cousin drugs Cialis and Levitra may be aiding the development of primary melanoma tumors.

Viagra Drugs Linked With Increased Risk of Skin Cancer

According to the JAMA study mentioned above, men who use Viagra for erectile dysfunction are 84 percent more likely to develop melanoma skin cancer than men who do not use erectile enhancing drugs.

The Harvard School of Public Health researchers conducting this study curated 10 years’ worth of data from a total of 26,000 male research participants, some of whom used Viagra on a regular basis.

Harvard published this study in April, reporting that out of 26,000 male research participants, 3,500 developed Viagra skin cancer. Of these Viagra skin cancer patients, 142 went on to develop melanoma skin cancer, the deadliest form of skin cancer.

In light of this study and other consumer reports, hundreds of men may file Viagra skin cancer lawsuits or join Viagra skin cancer class action lawsuits. Cialis lawsuits and Levitra lawsuits may also be filed against other erectile dysfunction drug treatment manufacturers.