A familiar drug may influence an unexpected cellular pathway that controls how cholesterol moves inside cancer cells. Viagra disrupts cancer cells’ cholesterol supplyLed by Dr. Yarden Ariav in Erez’s laboratory, the researchers found that sildenafil reduces the ability of cancer cells to use cholesterol, a crucial building block of cell membranes. Cholesterol becomes especially important when cancer cells detach from a primary tumor, travel through the body, and invade distant organs. Statins may strengthen the blockadeThe researchers found that pairing Viagra related drugs with statins could place cancer cells under even greater pressure. The evidence came from mouse cancer models, cancer cells cultured from human patients, and two decades of medical data involving about 5 million Clalit members.