Viagra may do a lot more than just help men out in the bedroom. Researchers have shown the little blue pill, in combination with a powerful anti-cancer drug, can effectively treat prostate cancer.
The researchers from Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine and VCU Massey Cancer Center say the combo of the two drugs reduced the size of tumors in lab mice while alleviating damage to the heart at the same time.
Doxorubicin, the anti-cancer chemotherapy drug, has been used for decades to treat several cancers, including the prostate, but it has a big downside: The drug has been associated with irreversible heart damage, which presents several years after treatment stops.
For the past 15 years, researchers have been working to find a drug that protects against heart damage without compromising the effectiveness of the chemo drug – and it looks like Viagra, generically known as sildenafil, could be the perfect fit.
“We believe sildenafil could be an excellent candidate for incorporation into cancer treatment protocols with the potential of enhancing the anti-tumor efficacy, while protecting the heart against both short-term and long-term damage from doxorubicin,” said principal investigator, Dr, Rakesh C. Kukreja, in a news release.
Kukreja and his team are so excited about the results they are now planning on moving to the next phase.
“My team and I are hoping to move the research forward to a clinical trial and plans are under way to do so,” he said.”The clinical trial would evaluate the effectiveness of the drug combination in cancer patients.”
The findings are published in the September 27 early edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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