# Viral ‘heightmaxxing’ trend has teen boys taking cancer drugs to grow taller, doctors warn of risks

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/viral-heightmaxxing-trend-has-teen-boys-taking-cancer-drugs-to-grow-taller-doctors-warn-of-risks/
- Published: 2026-11-10T21:14:27+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-10T22:37:39+00:00
- Original publisher: Fox News (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://www.foxnews.com/health/viral-heightmaxxing-trend-teen-boys-taking-cancer-drugs-grow-taller-doctors-warn-risks
- Topics: Health, Medicine, Trending, Weird & Viral, World

## Key points

- Teen boys are reportedly taking erdafitinib to try to grow taller.
- The cancer drug is not approved for height growth or adolescent use.
- Doctors warn of serious eye, metabolic and skeletal risks.

## Summary

Doctors are warning that teenage boys are reportedly using black-market erdafitinib, a cancer drug, in an online trend called “heightmaxxing”. The drug is approved for advanced bladder cancer, not for increasing height, and its safety and effectiveness have not been established for children or teenagers.

Medical reports describe unusual growth during treatment, but doctors say this does not mean healthy development: one teenager grew more than five inches and developed serious skeletal complications. Risks include vision damage, metabolic problems, bone pain and fractures; doctors also stress that height is largely genetic and the drug cannot reopen growth plates once they have closed.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.