A new study from the scientific interest group Epi-Phare, made public Thursday, December 19, showed that prolonged use of contraceptive pills containing desogestrel 75 μg alone presents a risk of meningioma (a brain tumor) for women over 45 years old. This risk, however, is “very weak”according to a press release published by the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products (ANSM), Epi-Phare and the National Health Insurance Fund. “It appears from five years of use and increases with duration, it is multiplied by two beyond seven years of exposure. » Marketed under the names Optimizette, Cerazette, Antigone, Elfasette, and under generic versions Désogestrel 75, these progestins, which are part of micropills, have been used by 1.2 million women in 2023. They are often prescribed postpartum.
The work was carried out using the National Health Data System, taking into account the 8,391 women operated on for intracranial meningiomas, brain tumors most often benign, between 1is January 2020 and December 31, 2023, matched with 83,910 control women. As a result, these interventions concern one woman for every 67,000 users of desogestrel, whatever the duration of exposure, and one for 17,000 exposed for more than five years.
Consult in case of headaches
The link between progestogen treatments and meningiomas is not new. A first case was described with cyproterone acetate (Androcur) in 2007. Since then, several studies have confirmed the association. Besides Androcur, other progestins increase the risk: Lutéran (chlormadinone acetate), Lutényl (nomegestrol), Colprone (medrogestone), Surgestone (promegestone) – which is no longer marketed – and Depo Provera (medroxyprogesterone acetate) . Regarding the latter, Alain Weill, deputy director of Epi-Phare, anticipates “a global crisis with this injectable contraceptive every three months, taken by 74 million women worldwide”. A study published in the BMJ had shown that prolonged use of injectable medroxyprogesterone acetate (Depo Provera) is associated with a 5.6-fold increased risk of meningioma. Positive point: if you stop for more than a year, the increased risk of meningioma disappears.
You have 34.36% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.
