After a single week of litigation, the family of a deceased Tennessee man has voluntarily decided to dismiss their Viagra skin cancer lawsuit against Pfizer Inc., which alleges that the company’s erectile dysfunction drug caused the decedent plaintiff to develop melanoma skin cancer.

Plaintiff Tina S. filed this Viagra lawsuit in April on behalf of David S., who allegedly began using Viagra to treat his erectile dysfunction condition in 2000. As instructed by his doctor, David continued to take Viagra until sometime in 2007.

According to Tina’s Viagra melanoma lawsuit, David died in September 2009 from a pulmonary embolism that was caused by metastatic mucosal melanoma.

Tina claimed that Pfizer had failed in its duty to properly disclose the risks of melanoma skin cancer associated with the use of Viagra. The Viagra lawsuit further alleges that had David known of the melanoma risks, he would have chosen to limit his dose of Viagra and how frequently he used the popular little blue pill.

This Viagra lawsuit was seeking over $50,000 in damages and compensation. However, on April 7, the plaintiff filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit.

This Viagra Lawsuit is Case No. 15-L-423, in Madison County Circuit Court.

Viagra Skin Cancer Risks

According to the FDA’s process for drug approval, all pharmaceutical drugs meant to be sold on the American drug market must have proof that the potential benefits of the medication outweigh the possible risk that consumers may experience.

A study performed by the Harvard School of Public Health in 2014 indicates a strong link between Viagra use and the development of melanoma skin cancer. Although this study does not prove a causal relationship, it does warrant further investigation into the possible link between Viagra and this form of skin cancer.

According to research by the American Cancer Society, 69,000 American patients are diagnosed with melanoma every year. Additionally, this type of cancer results in an estimated 8,650 deaths per year in the United States.

If caught in its early stages, melanoma is treatable. However, if the melanoma spreads from the skin to the lymph nodes, the patient’s treatment options become limited. In some cases, patients die from melanoma skin cancer.

It is likely that more and more men or their loved ones will file Viagra melanoma lawsuits against Pfizer Inc. These Viagra lawsuits similarly allege that had Pfizer included melanoma skin cancer warnings with their erectile enhancing product, a Viagra melanoma skin cancer diagnosis could have been avoided.

A Viagra melanoma warning would have allowed doctors to consider prescribing another type of erectile dysfunction drug or allowed consumers to weigh the risks of taking the medication on their own.