Pfizer Inc. faces a man’s recent Viagra skin cancer lawsuit in California federal court.

Plaintiff Leslie S. filed the Viagra skin cancer lawsuit on Feb. 19, 2018. He says that he began taking the medication on July 30, 2012, and continued its use through March 11, 2016.

However, he alleges that because of being prescribed Viagra, he was diagnosed with melanoma on Feb. 22, 2016, the Viagra skin cancer lawsuit states.

The Viagra skin cancer lawsuit was filed on multiple counts of negligence; Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices, including fraud, unlawfulness, and unfairness; defective design, failure to warn; failure to test; breach of express warranty; breach of implied warranty; fraudulent misrepresentation and concealment; negligent misrepresentation and concealment; fraud and deceit; among others.

Overview: Viagra Skin Cancer

Numerous cancer studies have linked prescription medications such as Viagra, Levitra and Cialis to the development of melanoma, a dangerous form of skin cancer.

The impacts of such a conclusion can be huge, as it is approximated that almost 23 million men have been prescribed Viagra worldwide for treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED). Viagra became approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1998.

According to Harvard Health Publishing, a 2014 study discovered that men who use medications such as Viagra (sildenafil) were “84% more likely to develop melanoma, the most dangerous form of skin cancer, over a period of 10 years.”

The study compared 29,929 men who never used Viagra and found that 128 men developed melanoma over a 10-year-period. Additionally, while out of 1,618 men who used Viagra, 14 developed melanoma.

Although the study does not show that Viagra causes melanoma, it does iterate that there is a significantly higher risk for developing melanoma from the use of Viagra or other erectile dysfunction medications. Simply put, the study sheds light on some of the various ways melanoma can develop.

In fact, one cause for the development of melanoma has to do with the “hyperactivation” of biological pathways. These biological pathways are pertinent to the survival of melanoma cells, the study reports. A human protein known as BRAF regulates the hyperactivation of biological pathways and a BRAF mutation was found in roughly 50 percent of melanoma tumors.

According to medical researchers, there is also a link between Viagra and BRAF in that they both inhibit PDE5A, a protein-coding enzyme. Therefore, melanoma tumors are thought to be developed as Viagra is able to inhibit this enzyme. Through this study, the researchers were able to combine data from a total of 26,000 male participants. The 26,000 participants included those who used Viagra consistently.

As this study continues to come to light, hundreds of men may file Viagra skin cancer lawsuits or join Viagra skin cancer class action lawsuits to seek damages for their development of melanoma.

The Viagra Skin Cancer Lawsuit is Case No. 3:16-md-02691-RS, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.