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Warning issued over 'heightmaxxing' trend where teens take cancer drugs to grow taller
Health experts have issued an urgent warning about a dangerous new social media trend involving teenage boys taking prescription cancer drugs to try to grow taller.
The practice is known as "heightmaxxing" and has come from the "looksmaxxing" movement - an online trend that encourages young men to change their physical appearance through extreme and harmful methods.
According to a report in Rolling Stone, some young men are experimenting with erdafitinib, a cancer drug sold under the brand name of Balversa, in hope of in the hope of triggering growth spurts.
Why are teenagers taking cancer drugs to grow taller?
The drug was first approved in the US in 2019 to treat certain adults with advanced urothelial cancer - a form of cancer that affects the bladder.
However, it has never been approved as a height-enhancement treatment, and there is no evidence that it can safely increase height in otherwise healthy teenagers.
The medication blocks proteins known as fibroblast growth factor receptors (FGFRs) that play a role in cell growth regulation.
Interest in the drug as a height-enhancement treatment appears to have occurred from medical reports documenting unexpected growth spurts in children receiving erdafitinib for brain tumors.
A 2024 study published in Hormone Research in Paediatrics noted accelerated growth in two pediatric patients, while a separate case documented a teenager who grew more than 5 inches during treatment but later developed serious skeletal complications.
While some online communities see these findings as evidence, doctors warn that the abnormal growth in these patients may reflect harmful skeletal toxicity rather than healthy development.
Teenager describes side effects after taking the drug
Teenagers on social media have begun referring to the drug as "erda".
Zak, a 17-year-old TikToker who experimented with the drug, has opened up about the painful consequences of taking the medication.
He revealed to Rolling Stone that he began taking the drug when he was 15, after he was made fun of for being shorter than the girls in his class.
"I don’t like other people towering over me, and I don’t like having to look up to people," he said. "I don’t know how to put it, but it feels like I’m not in control."
However, his attempts to grow taller reportedly came at a physical cost as he experienced joint pain that was so intense that he couldn’t stretch his arms in the morning.
"Stretching my arm felt like my wrist was going to tear off," he shared. "Waking up, it felt like my spine was bent. I had to spend one hour of just stretching so my spine feels better." Even then, he says, the pain continued.
Despite these symptoms, Zak said he was satisfied with the results he believed he experienced from taking erdafitinib and was even considering taking it again.
According to his own measurements, he grew several inches between roughly 15 and 17 years old while taking the cancer drug intermittently, after believing his height had previously stopped increasing.
Doctors warn of potentially permanent damage
Medical professionals have strongly condemned the heightmaxxing trend and have warned that young people are exposing themselves to serious health complications.
Dr. Stephanie Widmer, a New York City-based emergency medicine physician and Fox News medical contributor, told Fox News Digital: "It’s extremely concerning that teenagers are experimenting with powerful cancer medications in an attempt to grow taller.
"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," she added.
Erdafitinib carries a range of side effects such as bladder pain, blurred vision, confusion, chest tightness, labored breathing, lower back pain, seizures, scaling of the skin on the hands and feet, irregular heartbeat, and loosening of the fingernails, per drugs.com.
Widmer emphasized that some complications, especially those affecting eyesight, could have lasting consequences.
"One of the biggest concerns is that these medications can cause serious side effects, including potentially permanent vision damage, elevated phosphate levels, and other metabolic abnormalities," Widmer said.
"We’re talking about adolescents whose bodies are still developing, and exposing them to these risks for a cosmetic goal is particularly troubling."
Dr. Jessica Gray, a family physician in Lubbock, Texas, also cautioned that forced growth can lead to structural problems such as premature growth plate damage and bone fractures.
Another physician, identified as Dr. Patel, raised similar concerns during an interview with WHAS11.
He explained how medical case reports may have been misinterpreted by social media users.
"It seems that some social media accounts have looked up this unintended side effect from case reports and say, 'Hey, that might be a good side effect,' without realizing that accelerated bone growth is actually skeletal toxicity and is really dangerous, and it is not something that you want to be putting on your body or recommending to anyone," he said.
The doctor also expressed alarm over the influence of online communities encouraging teenagers to experiment with powerful prescription medications.
"An entire legion of kids, of teens who don't realize that medications that might be recommended online are potentially dangerous, and simply looking at a claim and saying that might be a good idea to take. But also, what's really alarming is how the kids are potentially getting this drug.
"This is an FDA-approved medication for cancer treatment, so it's also concerning to look at how exactly this medication is being distributed, and if it really is getting to the bottom of that as well," he added.
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Can cancer drugs actually make someone taller?
Although certain pediatric cancer patients have experienced unexpected growth while taking erdafitinib, doctors emphasize that these cases do not mean the drug is a safe or effective way to increase height.
Widmer explained that height is mostly determined by genetics, with normal growth also influenced by nutrition, hormones, and overall health.
The doctor also warned that online communities focused on looks and self-improvement can normalize harmful experimentation with medications that have no verified cosmetic benefits.
"Parents need to understand that this goes beyond teenagers being insecure about their height," the doctor said.
"We’re talking about young people potentially obtaining prescription cancer medications and experimenting with them outside of medical supervision. If a child has concerns about their growth, that conversation belongs in a pediatrician’s office, not on an internet forum."