Viral heightmaxxing trend has teen boys taking cancer drugs to grow taller despite doctors warnings
Medical experts are warning of a dangerous new social media trend known as “heightmaxxing,” amid reports that teenagers are taking black-market cancer medications in an effort to grow taller.Adolescents, primarily teenage boys, are reportedly turning to erdafitinib — often referred to online as “ERDA” or “Erta” — a targeted prescription drug approved to treat advanced bladder cancer.Teenagers are reportedly experimenting with the prescription medication after encountering online discussions suggesting it could increase height.“It’s extremely concerning that teenagers are experimenting with powerful cancer medications in an attempt to grow taller,” Dr.Stephanie Widmer, a New York City-based emergency medicine physician and Fox News medical contributor, told Fox News Digital.“These drugs were developed to treat serious medical conditions, not to enhance physical appearance, and taking them without a legitimate medical indication or physician supervision can have devastating consequences.”The drug maker, Johnson & Johnson, pushed back against the practice in a statement to Rolling Stone, emphasizing that the medication has never been approved to stimulate height growth and that its safety and effectiveness have not been established for any pediatric or adolescent use.Medical research has documented unexpected growth spurts in children receiving erdafitinib for brain tumors.
A 2024 study published in Hormone Research in Paediatrics described accelerated growth in two pediatric patients, while a separate case report documented a teenager who grew more than 5 inches during treatment but developed serious skeletal complications.Physicians caution that these spurts do not equal healthy skeletal growth.Dr.
Jessica Gray, a family physician in Lubbock, Texas, warned that forced, rapid growth can trigger dangerous structural problems, including premature growth plate damage and bone fractures.The drug works by blocking specific cellular si...