Does Depo-Provera Cause Brain Cancer?
No, Depo-Provera (depot medroxyprogesterone acetate) does not cause brain cancer. There is no evidence in the medical literature linking DMPA to brain cancer or any primary brain malignancy.
Cancer Risks Associated with Depo-Provera
The extensive safety data on DMPA spanning over 30 years and use by more than 90 million women worldwide has established its cancer risk profile, which does not include brain cancer 1:
Established Cancer Outcomes
- No increased risk of ovarian, liver, or cervical cancer has been demonstrated in long-term controlled clinical studies 2
- Reduced risk of endometrial cancer has been consistently shown 2
- Breast cancer risk is comparable to oral contraceptives, with no increased risk demonstrated in long-term studies 2, 1
Cardiovascular and Neurological Safety
- Long-term experience has established that DMPA use does not increase the risk of cardiovascular events 1
- When combined with estrogen in postmenopausal hormone therapy (a different clinical context than contraceptive use), MPA has been associated with a small increase in stroke risk and cognitive decline in older women, but this does not apply to reproductive-age women using DMPA for contraception 3, 4
Contraindications Related to Neurological Conditions
The absolute contraindications for Depo-Provera include cerebrovascular disease and history of stroke, but these are based on thrombotic risk, not cancer risk 5, 6:
- History of stroke or cerebrovascular disease is a contraindication 5
- Current or history of thromboembolic disorders is a contraindication 5
- History of meningiomas (benign brain tumors) should be screened for, though this represents a recent safety concern unrelated to malignancy 6
Common Pitfall to Avoid
Do not confuse the safety data from postmenopausal hormone therapy studies (which used MPA combined with estrogen in older women) with the safety profile of DMPA used alone as contraception in reproductive-age women 3, 4. These are entirely different clinical contexts with different risk profiles.