Scientists have discovered a new, perhaps even more life-affirming use for the erectile dysfunction drug Viagra.
Viagra (or sildenafil) might be able to significantly reduce a person’s risk of developing colorectal cancer, according to a new study. Researchers at Augusta University saw that when introduced in small daily doses to the water of lab mice, the number of tumors in the animals dropped by 50%.
“Giving a baby dose of Viagra can reduce the amount of tumors in these animals by half,” the study’s co-author Darren Browning told the university newspaper, Jagwire News.
The results have only been found in mice so far but the next step for the research team is to get the trial approved for human tests with people who are considered high risk for colorectal cancer, like those with a family history. The disease is the third most common cancer in the world, according to the study, and is diagnosed more than one million times each year with about 50,000 of them ending in death.
But the research team is hoping to reduce these numbers. They saw in their trial that the mice were helped by a reduction of polyps — the abnormal clumping of cells that build on the inside lining of the intestines and have a tendency to become tumors. A daily low-dose of Viagra halved these formations in the critters. What’s also promising is the drug’s virtual lack of negative side effects, making it both safe and convenient, especially in small amounts.
Viagra’s proving effective in helping the animals also by promoting the production of a chemical called cyclic GMP, which promotes the health of the intestinal lining.
“When we give Viagra, we shrink the whole proliferating compartment,” Browning said. “Proliferating cells are more subject to mutations that cause cancer.”
