Viagra has been on the market for over 15 years, and has since become a beacon of hope for men who suffer from impotency, erectile dysfunction, and any similar conditions. Despite the recent JAMA Internal Medicine study warning about the potential side effect of melanoma, it does not appear that Viagra’s popularity has suffered much.

In 1998 Viagra was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat erectile dysfunction in adult men, but by 2000 it had taken 92 percent of the world’s global market of prescription erectile dysfunction pills. Viagra reportedly generated 40,000 prescriptions in its first year on the market. The drug’s popularity took a major hit in 2007, reducing its dominance to 50 percent on the global market due to several cheaper generic brands and illegal bootleg drugs being sold, along with reports of vision loss as a potential Viagra side effect.

However, Viagra managed to gain some of its lost fame back when Pfizer announced that it would be selling the drug directly to patients on its website with a prescription. With this year being its 16th year on the market, Viagra has more than a decade of financial success. Viagra currently holds 45 percent of the sexual dysfunction market share, with competitor Cialis a close second. There were 8 million Viagra prescriptions written in 2012, earning Pfizer over $2 billion in sales.

With Viagra’s strong standing in the market, experts in various fields speculate on whether the drug will take another hit with its sales. Due to the recent study released by JAMA, experts are wondering if Viagra prescriptions will continue to be dispensed or if the pace will drop due to the new concern about melanoma skin cancer. Marketing experts suspect it may reduce the numbers.

Meanwhile, legal and medical experts expect angry patients to be filing product liability lawsuits against Pfizer alleging the company exposed them to an unnecessary risk. Viagra patients may claim they were not warned about the possibility of melanoma at the time they were prescribed the medication, and found out through the JAMA study or FDA announcements. With this alleged lack of disclosure, law firms are expecting new plaintiffs to be filing Viagra lawsuits.

Overview of Viagra Melanoma Complications

The JAMA study was published in the April issue, reporting that men who take Viagra are 84 percent more likely to develop melanoma skin cancer. This study was led by Dr. Abrar Qureshi, professor and chair of the dermatology department in the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, and a co-author of the study. Qureshi stated that while these results indicate a strong possibility, it is still too early to suggest that men cease taking Viagra to treat their erectile dysfunction.

This study was conducted by researchers from Harvard School of Public Health, and analyzed data from 2000 to 2010 of approximately 26,000 men. During this time, more than 3,500 cases of Viagra skin cancer were reported, with 142 cases being melanoma. The results indicated that men who were on Viagra were much more likely to develop melanoma skin cancer, which is the most aggressive variation of skin cancer. The scientists did not observe any increased risk for less severe skin cancers.