Overview
- Researchers at the Weizmann Institute with U.S. National Cancer Institute collaborators reported this week that sildenafil raised cGMP levels which bind the lysosomal cholesterol transporter NPC1 and reduce cholesterol export from cancer cells, hampering their ability to migrate and form metastases.
- The team combined genetic experiments, human cancer cell cultures and mouse cancer models to show that blocking lysosomal cholesterol export impaired membrane structure and mitochondrial energy in migrating tumor cells.
- A retrospective analysis of roughly 20 years of Clalit Health Services records covering about five million patients found an association between sildenafil use and improved survival in cancer patients but the authors stress this is observational and not proof of cause.
- Laboratory results showed additive anti‑metastatic effects when sildenafil was paired with statins, and the health‑records data produced a stronger survival signal for patients taking both drugs.
- Investigators and the National Cancer Institute say the findings create a plausible, low‑cost repurposing path but emphasize that randomized clinical trials, dosing and safety tests and studies of drug interactions are needed before sildenafil can be used for cancer care.