Thursday, March 8, 2007

Viagra boosts cancer resistance

Tests at Hopkins on mice with implanted colon and breast tumors showed that tumor size decreased two- and threefold in sildenafil [Viagra]-treated animals, compared to mice that did not get the drug. In mice engineered to lack an immune system, tumors were unaffected, proof of principle, the scientists say, that the drug is abetting the immune system’s own cellular response to cancer. There's no word on whether the male rats started pestering the female rats for the first time in years.

"Impotence drugs won’t cure cancer," [a researcher] cautioned, "but could be used in addition to standard chemotherapy or immunotherapy treatments."


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