STUDY: Viagra Linked To Melanoma

A new study has linked Viagra use to an increased risk for melanoma.

The study, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, found sildenafil, commonly known as Viagra, may increase a man's risk for melanoma by as much as 84 percent. The study involved nearly 26,000 men enrolled in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study at the Harvard School of Public Health. In 2000, the researchers interviewed men enrolled in the study about their sexual health, use of Viagra, as well as their history of sun exposure and genetic skin cancer risk, including hair and eye color and history of moles. The researchers identified 142 incidences of melanoma, 580 of squamous cell carcinoma and 3,030 of basal cell carcinoma. They found men who used Viagra were at nearly twice the risk for developing melanoma. However, there did not appear to be any link between the drug and risk for other types of skin cancers.