Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what consideration she has given to the potential impact of the use of Depo-Provera on trends in the level of meningioma.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is an executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care and regulates medicine, medical devices and blood components for transfusion in the United Kingdom, with responsibility for ensuring medicines meet appropriate standards of safety, quality, and efficacy.

Depo-Provera is an effective injectable contraceptive which contains medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA), a synthetic form of progesterone, and provides 12 weeks of contraception.

Meningiomas are generally non-cancerous (benign) brain tumours which affect the meninges, the thin layer of tissue surrounding the brain and spinal cord. In recent years, meningioma has rarely been associated with long-term use of high doses of some synthetic forms of progesterone, including cyproterone acetate and nomegestrol.

The MHRA has not examined the impact of Depo-Provera use on trends in meningioma diagnoses. However, the product information for Depo-Provera was updated after a study published in 2024 showed an excess risk of meningioma with high dose MPA. The marketing authorisation holder subsequently wrote to UK healthcare professionals with updated advice on managing this risk. Additional studies have since confirmed the association, and the MHRA is conducting research using UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink data to compare the risks of meningioma, fracture and osteoporosis associated with injectable depot MPA and other contraceptives.