Yesterday, I posted about the connection between Viagra and melanoma. To recap, a few – but just a few – studies have shown that the risk for melanoma is about doubled by Viagra use, but because there aren’t too many such studies, it’s hard to say for sure what’s going on.
Undeniably, there’s a correlation between Viagra and melanoma, but saying that Viagra causes melanoma (rather than simply noting the correlation between the use of Viagra and melanoma diagnoses) is a bit more tricky.
I also explained that while the lack of scientific research matters, it matters less than you might think: even if one (peer reviewed, sizable, statistically-rigorous) study shows a deadly disease like melanoma is linked to Viagra, Pfizer (the company that owns the Viagra patent), is morally obligated to inform consumers. Because the company did not do this, it ought to be the target of negligent personal injury and wrongful death litigation. I’m sure it will be. (Again.)
Recently, I found another piece of writing on Viagra and melanoma, this time at Medscape, an online medical information site curated by WebMD. There, an article by Larry Hand that discusses the JAMA research linking Viagra and melanoma, stating “The researchers adjusted their analyses for a variety of factors, including age, body mass index, tobacco use, physical activity, and childhood reaction to sun, plus melanoma risk factors, such as mole count, hair color, and family history.
The age-standardized absolute risk associated with sildenafil use came to 81 cases per 100,000 person-years (216.4/100,000 for users and 135.4/100,000 nonusers).”
“In anInvited Commentary, June K. Robinson, MD, editor of JAMA Dermatology and from the Department of Dermatology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, writes that primary care physicians are in a position to screen for melanoma in older men, especially when prescribing sildenafil.
‘With the proportion of Americans who are 65 years or older projected to increase from 12% in 2005 to 20% by 2030, more patients cared for by primary care physicians will have melanomas,’ she writes. ‘The mental note to screen the man requesting sildenafil could prompt the physician to check the patient’s face, bald scalp, ears, and neck.’”
As is the case for other cancers, Robinson explained that early melanoma detection could sharply decrease melanoma fatalities, be they related to Viagra use or not.
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