Depo-Provera and Meningioma: Causes, Symptoms and Legal Action

A meningioma is a slow-growing brain tumor that starts in the meninges, the thin layers of tissue that protect your brain and spinal cord. Although meningiomas are often described as “benign” or noncancerous, their location means they can press on nearby brain tissue and nerves. This can cause serious, sometimes life‑changing symptoms.

Most meningiomas grow gradually over many years. As a result, people may not notice symptoms until the tumor is large enough to affect important areas that control vision, speech, movement or memory.

Common meningioma symptoms include persistent headaches, vision problems, hearing loss, seizures, trouble speaking, memory issues and weakness or numbness in the arms or legs. In some patients, tumors near the optic nerve can affect vision, and those near the auditory structures can affect hearing.

Doctors usually diagnose meningioma with brain imaging tests such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). If an MRI is not possible, a computed tomography (CT) scan is done instead.

How Meningioma Is Connected to Depo‑Provera

Depo‑Provera contains medroxyprogesterone acetate, a powerful synthetic form of progesterone called progestin. Experts believe this man-made hormone can bind to progesterone receptors in the body and encourage meningioma growth. This hormone sensitivity could be a reason why Depo‑Provera use may lead to an increased risk of meningioma in some patients. Meningiomas are found more often in women.

Experts are closely studying the link between Depo‑Provera and meningioma, especially in women who used the birth control long-term. Research has shown that the risk of developing meningioma increases with the use of Depo for one year or more.

There are a few key studies that link Depo-Provera and meningioma brain tumors. However, it’s important to know that no research says the shot definitely causes brain tumors.

While evidence shows an association, the exact risk level varies across studies. A BMJ study suggested the risk is 5.6-fold higher for women who used the shot versus other forms of birth control, while a JAMA study found the risk was 2.43 times higher for women who used the shot than for those who didn’t.

However, most available studies agree that the risk goes up the longer a woman uses Depo-Provera. The JAMA study also found the risk increased in women older than 31.

The 2024 BMJ Study

In 2024, a French study published in The BMJ linked Depo-Provera to meningioma. Researchers found that women who used injectable medroxyprogesterone acetate for one year or more had about a 5.6‑fold higher risk of being diagnosed with a meningioma compared to non‑users. The risk increased with longer use. This study was one of the first to link Depo to meningioma risk.

Later that year, a U.S. study published in Cancers reported that Depo‑Provera use was associated with a 53% increase in the odds of developing meningioma. Risk also increased with longer Depo use.

These two studies found a link between Depo and meningioma, but could not say the shot directly caused it.

The most common meningioma symptoms are headache that lasts for weeks or months, paralysis or weakness, and vision or speech problems. Because meningioma tumors develop slowly, it can be difficult to pinpoint symptoms (and easy to overlook them). It often isn’t until the tumor grows large enough to cause problems that symptoms become noticeable.

Common Symptoms

Common meningioma symptoms include a headache lasting weeks or months, paralysis or weakness and vision or speech problems. Small meningiomas are not likely to cause symptoms. In fact, the tumors may only be detected during routine exams.

Meningioma symptoms also depend on the tumor’s location and the surrounding tissues or nerves.

“In some patients, if the tumor is near the optic nerve, [it] can also affect vision. Or if it’s close to your auditory structure, it can affect hearing as well,” Dazhi Liu, an oncology clinical pharmacy specialist, told Drugwatch.

When To Seek Medical Care

Slow-growing tumors aren’t an emergency if they don’t cause symptoms. However, if you experience more severe symptoms, you should seek care right away. Severe symptoms include seizures, acute headaches, weakness/numbness in arms and legs and sudden memory or vision issues.

If you have used Depo-Provera and experience any of the symptoms listed above, you should discuss them with your medical provider. For a complete guide, visit our Depo-Provera meningioma symptoms page.

In December 2025, the FDA approved a new meningioma warning for the Depo-Provera label. According to the update, “Cases of meningiomas have been reported following repeated administration of medroxyprogesterone acetate, primarily with long-term use.”

The label also recommends that doctors monitor patients on Depo-Provera for signs and symptoms of meningioma. If you are diagnosed with meningioma, you should stop taking the shot.

How Pfizer Responded

Shortly after the BMJ study, Pfizer released the following statement: “We are aware of this potential risk associated with long-term use of progestogens and, in collaboration with regulatory agencies, are in the process of updating product labels and patient information leaflets with appropriate wording.”

Despite this response, Pfizer didn’t update the label with a meningioma warning until December 2025.

Prior International Regulatory Actions

The European Medicines Agency added a Depo meningioma warning in September 2024, following the March 2024 study.

The EMA’s Depo-Provera label warning reads: “Cases of meningioma (single and multiple) have been reported in patients treated with medroxyprogesterone acetate for a prolonged time (several years). Patients treated with medroxyprogesterone acetate should be monitored for signs and symptoms of meningioma in accordance with clinical practice. If a patient is diagnosed with meningioma, medroxyprogesterone acetate must be stopped, as a precautionary measure. In some cases, shrinkage of meningioma was observed after treatment discontinuation of depot medroxyprogesterone acetate.”

Pfizer UK sent out a Depo-Provera meningioma warning to health care professionals in October 2024, but a similar warning didn’t go out in the United States. Pakistan’s drug label also had a meningioma warning before the U.S.

Women who use Depo‑Provera for a year or longer may face a higher risk of developing meningioma compared to women who never used the shot. Women are more likely than men to develop a meningioma, and that risk increases with age.

Other factors, such as certain inherited genetic conditions, obesity, cigarette smoking and prior radiation therapy to the head, can also increase the likelihood of meningioma.

Meningiomas linked to Depo‑Provera are usually intracranial tumors. These tumors grow from the meninges, or the tissue lining the brain inside the skull. Meningiomas can also form along the spinal cord.

Most meningiomas are Grade 1 benign tumors that grow slowly. Others are classified as Grade 2 tumors that are more likely to come back after treatment. Grade 3 tumors are malignant and fast-growing.

Treatment options depend on the tumor’s grade and location. Typically, it involves either regular monitoring or surgical removal. Doctors may recommend radiation alongside surgery for patients with aggressive meningiomas.

Noncancerous tumors can still cause serious symptoms if they compress nearby brain tissue, nerves or blood vessels. This is why understanding Depo‑Provera meningioma risk is important for women who have used the shot long-term.

If you’ve used Depo-Provera and are concerned about a meningioma brain tumor, discuss your potential risk with your health care provider. The drug’s label recommends that doctors monitor women who take the shot.

If you get diagnosed with meningioma after using Depo-Provera, you may want to discuss the March 2024 BMJ study and the subsequent September 2024 Cancers study. These could help your doctor determine if Depo-Provera use contributed to your meningioma brain tumor.

Next, review meningioma treatment options with your doctor. If the tumor is small and not causing significant problems, your doctor may decide to monitor it. On the other hand, if the case is severe, you may require surgery to remove the tumor.

If you decide to get a second opinion, request a complete copy of your medical records from your current doctor. Make sure to include any X-rays or diagnostic test results. You will also need your medical records if you want to file a Depo-Provera lawsuit.

Legal Options for Affected Women

According to thousands of Depo-Provera lawsuits in the U.S., Pfizer and other manufacturers knew about the meningioma risk and failed to warn patients and doctors. Plaintiffs also claim the shot has design defects.

If you developed meningioma after using Depo-Provera, you may be eligible to file a claim. For full eligibility criteria and how to file, read more about the Depo-Provera lawsuit.