Cialis may help erections after prostate surgery

The new erectile dysfunction drug Cialis (tadalafil) may improve erections in patients who undergo radical prostate cancer surgery, said the makers of the drug, Eli Lilly and Co. and Icos Corp. on Friday.

In a trial of the drug, which has been approved in Europe but is still awaiting approval in the United States, 62% of men who underwent bilateral nerve-sparing radical retropubic prostatectomy had improved erections.More than half of men who undergo this kind of radical prostatectomy experience some level of erectile dysfunction 18 months or more after the procedure, the companies said. The data were released at the annual meeting of the Sexual Medicine Society in Denver. Cialis is in a three-way battle for market share with Pfizer Inc.’s Viagra and GlaxoSmithKline Plc’s Levitra. (Source: Reuters Health: 10th October 2003: Oncolink)