A Viagra skin cancer lawsuit has been filed in Chicago federal court by a man who claims he developed melanoma skin cancer as a direct result of his prescription and use of the popular “blue pill,” commonly prescribed to men as an erectile dysfunction treatment.

Plaintiff Edward C. filed the Viagra lawsuit against Pfizer Inc., the drug’s manufacturer, claiming the pharmaceutical company carelessly promoted Viagra as a safe erectile dysfunction medication for patients battling skin cancer, when the drug giant knew, or should have reasonably known, that their ED drug may in fact increase a man’s risk of melanoma skin cancer.

Edward claims in the Viagra lawsuit that he was prescribed the drug in 2008 to treat his erectile dysfunction. The lawsuit says he continued to take Viagra until about December 2012, when a biopsy of the plaintiff’s neck mole revealed he had developed melanoma skin cancer. This medical discovery necessitated that Edward undergo an excision procedure in order to remove the cancer from his body.

In his Viagra melanoma lawsuit, Edward points to a 2014 Viagra Study published in JAMA by Harvard researchers, which allegedly found that Viagra (or sildenafil), “increases the invasiveness of melanoma cells and was significantly associated with an increased risk of subsequent melanoma.” The plaintiff alleges Pfizer should have known of the increased risk of melanoma skin cancer associated with the consumption of Viagra and other sildenafil treatments.

According to the Viagra lawsuit, Edward further claims:

“Despite defendant’s knowledge regarding the risks of Viagra, it did not sufficiently warn doctors who prescribed or patients who were prescribed Viagra of the risk of developing melanoma. Plaintiff’s use of Viagra over the course of several years put him at an increased risk of developing melanoma and for such melanoma to become more invasive than if plaintiff had not ingested Viagra.”

The plaintiff alleges that had he been informed of the increased risk of melanoma skin cancer associated with Viagra, he would not have taken the drug at all. In this Viagra skin cancer lawsuit, Edward is seeking payment of potential future medical bills and punitive damages for Pfizer’s alleged negligence, strict liability, breach of express and implied warranties, unjust enrichment, and fraudulent misrepresentation.

Viagra Skin Cancer Research Study

The JAMA research study mentioned by Edward C. in his Viagra lawsuit was performed by researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health over the course of 10 years. According to the study, men who take Viagra are 84 percent more likely to develop skin cancer, especially the more deadly melanoma skin cancer, than other men who did not consume the erectile dysfunction drug.

The Viagra skin cancer research was based on data curated by Harvard over the course of 10 years and followed 26,000 male research participants, some of whom used Viagra on a regular basis. This Harvard study, originally published in April 2014, reported that 3,500 of the 26,000 men developed skin cancer allegedly linked to their use of Viagra. Of these 3,500 Viagra skin cancer subjects, 142 specifically developed melanoma skin cancer, the deadliest form of skin cancer a person can contract.

In order to account for other melanoma-causing factors that could potentially taint the study’s data, Harvard researchers looked at participants’ genetics, UV damage, and other carcinogenic risk factors. Researchers allegedly found that these other cancer causes did not affect the findings of their Viagra melanoma study. This conclusion suggested an increased risk of developing skin cancer for men who take Viagra or other erectile enhancing drugs containing sildenafil.

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 like Edward C. against Pfizer and other ED drug manufacturers for failing to warn consumers of this deadly Viagra side effect.