Melanoma Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed Over Viagra Side Effects

The daughter of a South Dakota man has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Pfizer, saying that the side effects of Viagra caused melanoma cancer to spread in her father, resulting in his death. 

The complaint (PDF) was filed by Danielle Schoenrock on December 7, on behalf of her father, Curtis Stern, and as his heirs. Schoenrock indicates that Viagra use caused Stern’s melanoma, a deadly form of skin cancer, to spread to his brain.

Stern began using Viagra in 2009, for the treatment of erectile dysfunction. In 2012, he went to Avera Cancer Institute, where they discovered that lesions on the left and right frontal lobes of his brain were metastatic melanoma. After being subjected to brain radiation treatment, Stern’s functioning began to decline and he died on December 12, 2012.

The case joins a growing number of similar Viagra melanoma lawsuits filed in courts throughout the U.S., each indicating that Pfizer knew or should have known about the risk that Viagra could spread and metastasize melanoma. Plaintiffs allege that the drug maker withheld warnings from consumers and the medical community for year, for fear that it would impact sales of their blockbuster drug.

“Defendant purposefully downplayed, understated and outright ignored the melanoma-related health hazards and risks associated with using Viagra,” the lawsuit states. “Defendant concealed material information to melanoma development from potential Viagra users. In particular, in the warnings the company includes in its commercials, online and print advertisements, Defendant fail[s] to mention any potential risk for melanoma development and/or exacerbation associated with Viagra use.”

Schoenrock is pursuing charges of wrongful death, negligence, gross negligence, breach of warranty, fraud, fraudulent misrepresentation, fraudulent concealment, negligent misrepresentation and strict liability against Pfizer.

Viagra Melanoma Risks

Since its approval in 1998, Viagra has been prescribed to an estimated 35 million men, and it has become one of the most widely recognized brand-name medications on the market in the United States, used by millions of men to treat impotence and sexual dysfunction, including the inability to develop or maintain an erection.

According to the lawsuit, Pfizer reported $1.8 billion in revenue from Viagra sales in 2013, which commands 45% of the erectile dysfunction therapy market. However, concerns have emerged over the past few years about a potential link between Viagra and melanoma, with studies suggesting that the medication may reduced the body’s ability to resist the spread of melanoma.

As early as 2011, a study was published in the medical journal Cancer Cell which warned that Viagra could promote melanoma cell invasion. Another study published in the Journal of Cell Biochemistry in 2012 also found that PDE5 inhibitors like Viagra could exacerbate melanoma development.

Public attention was not brought to the skin cancer risks from Viagra until a study published last year in the medical journal JAMA Internal Medicine. Researchers from Harvard Medical School found that men who took Viagra were 84% more likely to be diagnosed with melanoma than men who do not use the drug.

The American Cancer Society indicates that melanoma is diagnosed in about 69,000 Americans each year and causes about 8,650 deaths annually. The skin cancer usually manifests as unusual moles or patches of skin. While it is often curable if caught early, once melanoma has spread beyond the skin and local lymph nodes, treatment is difficult and it may ultimately result in death.