New Study Shows How Viagra Could Stop Cancer Spread

A new study has proposed how the erectile dysfunction drug Viagra could help slow down cancer spread. The research was led by researchers from the Weizmann Institute of Science, who published their results in the journal Cancer Research.

Viagra (also known as sildenafil) is a type of oral medication taken as needed to induce erections. It works by inhibiting the phosphodiesterase type-5 enzyme, which in turn raises levels of cGMP, a molecule that helps to relax the blood vessels, and increase blood flow.

Its use as an erectile dysfunction drug was discovered by Pfizer back in the 90’s, when they first ran trials to study its effects. The clinical team started to suspect that they had discovered something big when trial participants allegedly called to request for more tablets, and avoided returning excess samples of the drug once trials were over.

Since its release on the market, Viagra has made Pfizer more than $1.4 billion a year.

The 2026 study, done in conjunction with the health organization Clalit, studied the effects of Viagra on laboratory mouse models of cancer and cultures of cancer cells from human subjects.

They found that sildenafil can interfere with cancer cells and their ability to metastasize and spread around the body. It can block cancer cells from accessing cholesterol, an important building block for cells. By preventing cells from growing further, the drug should theoretically block cancer cells from spreading further.

However, one of the co-authors of the study, Samah Hayek, MD, an epidemiologist at the Clalit Research Institute highlighted in an interview with Healthline that the study only looked at “medication use before diagnosis” and has not yet tested whether “giving Viagra to patients after they are diagnosed with cancer improves outcomes”. She also added that: “These findings are encouraging, but they do not mean cancer patients should start taking Viagra.”

While current research remains preliminary, further studies and potentially clinical trials could help establish whether Viagra could also be a viable drug candidate for stopping the spread of cancer.