A new study suggests that sildenafil, the erectile dysfunction drug sold as Viagra, may offer an unexpected benefit for cancer patients by helping to prevent tumours from spreading to new sites in the body. The findings add to a growing body of research examining whether existing, widely available medications could be repurposed to fight cancer, which would matter because approved drugs already have well-established safety profiles and could reach patients more quickly than entirely new treatments.

Viagra, manufactured and distributed by Viatris, is normally prescribed to treat erectile dysfunction by increasing blood flow during sexual stimulation, though researchers noted it was originally developed to treat a different condition. The latest research points to a possible role for the drug in curbing metastasis, the process by which cancer cells break away from an original tumour and establish growth elsewhere, though further studies would be needed before any such use could be confirmed or recommended by doctors.