Viagra has been one of the most successful drugs of all time for the treatment of erectile dysfunction, also known as E.D. Now comes news that the drug has a direct effect on melanoma in many cases. Not only could the drug apparently help the human body fight melanoma by boosting the immune system, but Viagra also seems to reduce inflammation. Mice who took Viagra, and who also had melanoma, lived much longer than mice in the study who were not taking the drug.

Through a complicated system of suppression and duplication, cancerous cells use inflammation as one of their tools to destroy the human body. Viagra appears to restrict this ability on the part of cancerous cells, which might be the reason the mice who took Viagra were able to enjoy less inflammation and longer lives.

Viagra has become one of the most prescribed medications in history over the last two decades, but this new information about its possible cancer-fighting properties might cause a larger surge of demand for the drug. One reason that researchers were so optimistic about the results of this specific study is that mice and humans have similar skin cells. Not only that, but skin cancer develops in almost exactly the same way in both mice and humans. As a result, when the study is replicated on humans, scientists expect results that are in line with the earlier data.

If nothing else, researchers say that even if Viagra is not able to slow down or avoid skin cancer altogether, at least a suppression of inflammation would be a huge step in alleviating much of the pain and suffering that skin cancer patients undergo. Right now, more work needs to be done in order to learn whether Viagra can be used with other skin cancer treatments. Sometimes, two independently effective treatments do not work if they are attempted at the same time.

Every year, more than 7.000 people die from melanoma, with 53,000 new cases reported each year. Among men, it is the sixth most prevalent type of cancer. Among women, it is the seventh. The only good news in those statistics is the fact that melanoma is the least common type of skin cancer reported, though it is also the most fatal. If the recent study, which showed such positive results for mice who took Viagra, is any indication, there might soon be some very good news for humans who suffer from melanoma.

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