Depo-Provera is the brand name for medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA), an injectable contraceptive containing the hormone progestin. Progestin is a synthetic version of the naturally-occuring hormone progesterone. Depo-Provera shots are administered as a 150 milligram injection into the muscle, at your buttock or upper arm, every three months to suppress ovulation.
Depo-Provera has been available for nearly 60 years, although it was not approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in the U.S. until October 1992. Between one and two million women in the U.S use Depo-Provera each year.
Depo-subQ provera 104 also contains medroxyprogesterone acetate and is used both for birth control and to treat endometriosis pain.
A depo-subQ provera 104 injection is a lower dosage than Depo-Provera, as it is 104 milligrams rather than 150 milligrams. Depo-subQ provera 104 is administered subcutaneously, meaning into the tissue beneath the skin instead of a muscle or vein, in the thigh or abdomen.
A meningioma is a primary central nervous system tumor that starts in the brain or spinal cord.
Meningiomas develop from the meninges, which are the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord. Although a meningioma is not technically a brain tumor, it can potentially cause significant disability if it presses on the brain, nerves and vessels. As a result, treatment for meningiomas often requires surgery (craniotomy) and/or radiation treatment.
Symptoms of a meningioma include changes in vision (such as double or blurry vision), headaches, memory loss, seizures, hearing loss or ringing in the ears, weakness in the arms or legs, loss of smell and difficulty speaking.
A recent French study, published in March 2024 in the British Medical Journal, examined the risk of meningioma associated with progestogen use. The study found that users of Depo-Provera (MPA) had the highest increased risk of developing intracranial meningiomas. Additionally, the study found that using Depo-Provera for over a year increased the risk of tumors by 5.6 times.
This same risk was not found with the most commonly used oral and intravaginal contraceptives. Furthermore, MPA use is much lower in France as compared to the United States, where MPA injections are commonly used by young, lower-income and Black women.
These lawsuits are based on patients not being warned that the contraceptive injection Depo-Provera and the endometriosis injection depo-subQ provera 104 could increase their risk of developing a meningioma tumor. These tumors can vary in size, growing over time. They may be either benign or, in a smaller number of cases, cancerous. Even when meningiomas are benign, they are dangerous because they intrude on brain tissue and structures as they grow.
In November 2004, Pfizer and the FDA agreed that the drug should carry a “black box warning,” one of the strongest warnings issued to consumers. This warning was limited to prolonged use potentially resulting in significant loss of bone density, such as osteoporosis, and does not warn against the risk of brain and spinal tumors.
If you or a loved one have used Depo-Provera or depo-subQ provera 104 for at least one year and were later diagnosed with a meningioma, brain tumor or spinal tumor, Pope McGlamry is available to help. Call our Atlanta office or submit your free case evaluation.
