Researchers studying the effects of Viagra (aka sildenafil) on mice have discovered a small, daily dose of the medication in the animals' drinking water significantly reduces their risk of developing colorectal cancer.
"Giving a baby dose of Viagra can reduce the amount of tumours in these animals by half," says biochemist Darren D. Browning from Augusta University.
The next step the team wants to pursue, saying a clinical trial with patients considered at high risk of colorectal cancer – or with a family history of the disease – should be a research priority. If the effects can be replicated in humans, it could be a huge step forward in saving lives lost to cancer.
In people, colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer worldwide, causing in excess of 1 million cases annually – some 50,000 of which end in death in the US each year.