Viagra could be the answer

More research has been released showing that erectile dysfunction medication used in conjunction with cancer medication can boost the ability to shrink tumours. In this recent study done by scientists based at Virginia Commonwealth University it was observed that when the impotence drug Viagra was combined with a treatment of the cancer drug doxorubicin not only was the tumour destroying potential of the drug increased but it was also observed that the side effects of heart damage was significantly reduced.

The chemotherapy drug doxorubicin has been used for over 40 years as an effective treatment for cancer however the downside of this cancer drug is that it can cause irreversible heart damage that often appears a number of years after the course of treatment. A lot of research has been done by scientists to try to reduce the cytotoxicity which comes along with a course of doxorubicin and it looks like Viagra could be the answer!

The scientists explained that the combination of Viagra and doxorubcin considerably enhanced the production of reactive oxygen species which trigger cell death [apoptosis] in prostate cancer cells and at the same time they saw that this combination did no harm to healthy prostate epithelial cells.

This study which was released in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences comes hot on the heels of other cancer research which made use of the erectile dysfunction drug Cialis to treat brain tumours.

The lead researcher Professor Rakesh Kukreja said that he and his team had plans to initiate clinical trials which would independently verify the effectiveness of the Viagra and doxorubicin combination and that they were extremely excited about the potential benefits for cancer patients.

At Ukmedix News we have also speculated that this combination treatment could be perfect for men who are treated for prostate cancer because they often have erectile dysfunction after their course of therapy and the use of Viagra could help to maintain their erectile function while they are being treated.