Depo-Provera Shots Triple Brain Tumor Risks Compared to Birth Control Pill: Study

Researchers are calling for further investigations into Depo-Provera side effects, as more than 400 women pursue lawsuits after developing meningioma brain tumors from the birth control shot.

New findings add to a growing body of research, which shows that side effects of Depo-Provera birth control shots dramatically raise a woman’s risk of developing potentially crippling and life-threatening intracranial meningiomas.

Depo-Provera (medroxyprogesteroneacetate, or MPA) is a birth control injection that is administered every three months, containing medroxyprogesterone acetate, a synthetic form of the hormone progesterone. It is now widely available in both brand name and generic forms.

Following years of marketing that promoted the convenience of the quarterly shots over daily birth control pills, more than 70 million women worldwide have received the injections. However, a series of new studies have been published over the past year that raise concerns about the link between Depo-Provera shots and brain tumors.

This month, a new report was published in the medical journal Expert Opinion on Drug Safety, indicating that women receiving the birth control shots may face triple the risk of meningioma brain tumors, compared to women receiving older birth control pills.

The report largely supports the findings of an earlier study published in March 2024, which linked Depo-Provera shots to increased brain tumor risks, first raising concerns that the drug makers failed to adequately warn women and the medical community about the risks associated with their birth control product. 

Since the publication of that study last year, more than 400 Depo-Provera brain tumor lawsuits have been filed in federal courts nationwide. However, as more women learn about the cause of their injuries, it is widely expected that thousands of claims may ultimately be filed.

For the new study, a Canadian research team conducted a nested case-control study using data from the PharMetrics Plus database from 2006 to 2020.

The researchers, led by Dr. Mahyar Etminan of the University of British Columbia, looked at new users of the Depo-Provera shots and compared them with women who took traditional ethinylestradiol-levonorgestrel (EE-LNG) birth control pills.

According to the findings, women who received Depo-Provera injections for more than a year were three and a half times more likely to develop a brain tumor than those taking oral contraceptives.

“Among women using MPA (Depo-Provera) for more than one year, the adjusted IRR for meningiomas was 3.55 (95% CI: 1.85–6.85), indicating a significantly higher risk compared to EE-LNG (ethinylestradiol-levonorgestrel) users.”

–Dr. Mahyar Etminan, Use of medroxyprogesterone acetate and risk of meningiomas: a comparative safety study, July 2025

Although the researchers found a significant association between MPA use and an elevated risk of meningiomas, they emphasized the need for further studies to validate the results and inform long-term treatment decisions.

Depo-Provera Brain Tumor Lawsuits

The findings come as the U.S. District Judge presiding over all federal Depo-Provera brain tumor claims is preparing a group of five pilot lawsuits for early trial dates, to help the parties gauge how the Court and juries may respond to testimony and evidence that is likely to be repeated throughout the litigation.

Given common questions of fact and law raised in lawsuits filed throughout the federal court system, a federal multidistrict litigation (MDL) has been established in the Northern District of Florida, where U.S. District Judge M. Casey Rodgers is overseeing the coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings.

While the first Depo-Provera brain tumor lawsuits have not yet been set for trial, the Judge has laid out a timeline that will prepare the first cases to be ready to go before a jury by late 2026 or early 2027.

Although the outcomes of these trials will not be binding on other Depo-Provera lawsuits, they will give the parties a chance to see how juries respond to arguments and testimony that will be repeated throughout the litigation, which may help the parties reach Depo-Provera settlement agreements.

To stay up to date on this litigation, sign up to receive Depo-Provera lawsuit updates sent directly to your inbox.