Emily Sortor  |  December 27, 2019

Category: Cancer

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Viagra Viagra lawsuit Viagra melanoma lawsuitPfizer has been facing a rash of litigation over a reported Viagra melanoma link, fielding claims from dozens of men who say they should have been warned about an increased risk of skin cancer.

One such claim was filed by plaintiff Phillip K. last year. Phillip says he took Viagra for an eleven-year period, between 2003 and 2014. He states that he was diagnosed with melanoma in June of 2014, claiming that his use of Viagra caused him to develop the skin cancer.

Viagra Melanoma Lawsuits

Phillip’s melanoma lawsuit joined a growing multidistrict litigation (MDL) filed against Pfizer for the same issue.

Viagra is an erectile dysfunction drug made by Pfizer Pharmaceuticals. Pfizer’s application to manufacture and sell the drug was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1998.

Many patients are claiming that they developed melanoma after taking Viagra, and arguing that Pfizer knew that there was evidence linking the main ingredient in Viagra to the development of melanoma and that the company intentionally did not inform medical professionals or patients of this link.

According to the Viagra melanoma lawsuit, “[e]rectile dysfunction is the medical diagnosis for a condition in which a man cannot achieve or maintain an erection sufficient for satisfactory sexual activity. Since achieving and/or maintaining an erection involves the brain, nerves, hormones, and blood vessels, any condition that interferes with any of these functional areas of the body may be causally related to an individual’s erectile dysfunction.”

The master complaint for the MDL states that Viagra contains the active ingredient sildenafil citrate. It treats erectile dysfunction by inhibiting the secretion of phosphodiesterase type 5 (“PDe5”), an enzyme responsible for the degradation of guanine monophosphate (“cGMP”). When the cGMP is not degraded by the PDE5, smooth muscles in the corpus cavernosum relax. This, in turn, permits an inflow of blood to the corpus cavernosum, creating an erection. Sildenafil, however, is also potentially linked to melanoma.

Currently, Viagra represents 45 percent of the market share of erectile dysfunction drugs, and an estimated 35 million people worldwide take the drug.

Viagra and Melanoma

Phillip and others involved in the Viagra melanoma MDL claim that Pfizer knew or should have known since the 1990s about the increased risk of cancer, but that they intentionally took no action to warn medical providers or patients about the alleged risks of taking Viagra.

Plaintiffs note that the American Cancer Society has determined melanoma to be the most serious type of skin cancer, in that is more likely than other cancers to spread to other parts of the body, causing further tissue damage. Melanoma is often very hard to eradicate.

The plaintiffs cite studies conducted in the 1990s to determine if there is a link between sildenafil citrate and cancer. One 1997 study involving rats was canceled after too many rats in the study died of cancer after being given Viagra. In a 1998 study involving humans who had taken Viagra, numerous participants dropped out of the study after developing melanoma and other cancers.

Other studies since then have reportedly “linked the mechanism of action for Viagra to cell mutation cultivating melanomagenesis, or the creation of melanocytes which develop into melanoma.” In 2011, a study was released that suggested that taking Viagra can increase melanoma cell invasion. The patients go on to cite further studies in following years.

The plaintiffs argue that Pfizer should have known about the numerous studies linking Viagra to melanoma. They claim that Pfizer’s aggressive marketing of the drug despite this research represents negligence and misrepresentation on the company’s part and that this action has caused many patients significant emotional, financial, and physical injury.

How Might Viagra and Melanoma Be Linked?

Science Daily did report that a 2017 study indicated that though erectile medication users were 11 percent more likely to develop melanoma, this statistic might not indicate that the medication itself causes this increase.

The study was published in May 2017 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, and reportedly indicated a “detection bias.” Science Daily says that this means patients who take erectile dysfunction medications may be more conscious about their health in general. This concern for their health may lead them to notice skin abnormalities, consult a doctor, and receive diagnosis for melanoma.

Authors for the study advised the medical community to not panic over the potential link between erectile dysfunction medications and melanoma, saying, “physicians should still screen for melanoma risk, but they do not need to add the use of Viagra and similar drugs to the list of screening criteria specifically.”

This 2017 study was launched in an attempt to better understand earlier research that had made a stronger link between Viagra and melanoma. A 2014 report published in the Journal of American Medical Association linked Viagra use with elevated melanoma risk, news which prompted the FDA to put Viagra and similar drugs on a “watch list” of drugs that had possible safety risks.

In 2016, the team behind the 2017 study found that men who took Viagra were more likely to develop early stage melanoma, but were less likely to develop later-stage melanoma than those patients who did not use Viagra. 

The Viagra Melanoma Lawsuit is Case No. 3:18-cv-02139-RS in the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California, San Fransisco Division.

If you or a loved one were diagnosed with melanoma after using Viagra, Cialis or Levitra, you may have a legal claim. Personal injury lawyers are helping victims and their families pursue compensation for their injuries. If you have a case, you could be able to recover your medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and more.

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