Levitra is one of the popular medicines prescribed for treating erectile dysfunction and impotence. It is often used to stimulate or sustain sexual drive in men. The drug is jointly marketed in the U.S. by GlaxoSmithKline, Schering-Plough Corporation, and Bayer Pharmaceuticals.

According to an April 2014 Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) article, Viagra (sildenafil), the most popular and well-known drug prescribed for male erectile dysfunction (ED), is linked to an increased risk for malignant melanoma. The findings have left some experts wondering if the four other brand name ED drugs that are phospodieterase 5 (PDE5) inhibitors — Cialis, Levitra, Staxyn, and Stendra — are associated with an increased risk of melanoma skin cancer, too.

Study Links ED Drugs Like Levitra To Melanoma Skin Cancer

The recent medical study finding which indicates an association between each of these ED drugs with invasive melanoma skin cancer might be of particular concern to patients that have used any of these medications and who may be at an elevated risk of melanoma due to a history of:

• extensive sun exposure;
• basal or squamous cell skin cancers;
• Parkinson disease (which causes autonomic erectile dysfunction and is associated with elevated risk of melanoma); or,
• other family members diagnosed with melanoma.

Researchers have suspected that Viagra, and other drugs in the same class including Levitra, may increase the risk of melanoma because the class of drugs [known as phosphodiesterase (PDE) 5A inhibitors] affect the same genetic pathway that allows skin cancer to become more invasive.

Although the JAMA study did not look at other PDE5A erectile dysfunction drugs is has been noted that other ED drugs, such as Levitra, work on the same biochemistry and may pose an even greater risk for melanoma because they are longer lasting in the body than Viagra.

Levitra and the other ED drugs work by inhibiting an enzyme called PDE5A. That then leads to other changes that allow smooth muscle relaxation, improved blood flow and penile erection. That same enzyme, however, also would normally work against melanoma cell proliferation, especially in the 50% of melanoma tumors that are fueled by a particular genetic mutation. In other words, by taking ED drugs that target PDE5A, men may be opening a chemical pathway that allows melanoma cells to flourish.

This study does not prove that ED drugs cause melanoma. But clearly, men should now be on alert about this risk, and more research is needed, especially considering the fact that melanoma rates are increasing most rapidly in men over age 50 — the same group that is most likely to use ED medication.

Melanoma Skin Cancer

Melanoma is a malignant tumor of melanocytes. Melanocytes produce the dark pigment, melanin, which is responsible for the color of skin.  These cells predominantly occur in skin, but are also found in other parts of the body.  Melanoma can originate in any part of the body that contains melanocytes.