Israeli Scientists Discover Viagra Ingredient Could Help Stop Cancer Spread
In a surprising discovery, Israeli researchers say they have uncovered the biological mechanism in which Viagra, a drug best known for treating male erectile dysfunction, helps stop the spread of cancer.
In peer-reviewed research, scientists at Weizmann Institute of Science showed that sildenafil, the active ingredient in Viagra, disrupts cancer cells’ cholesterol supply, a crucial material they need to metastasize to other organs.
Dr. Yarden Ariav led the research in Prof. Ayelet Erez’s lab at Weizmann, along with researchers in Prof. Eytan Ruppin’s lab at the US National Cancer Institute, the Innovation Division at Israel’s national health provider Clalit Health Services, and physicians and scientists from Clalit-Beilinson Hospital.
The scientists’ findings, which appeared in July in Cancer Research, were based on mouse cancer models, cultures of cancer cells from human patients, and data collected over 20 years from some 5 million Clalit members.
