This drug increases the risk of tumors: what is Colprone, the progestin in the sights of health authorities ?

In recent weeks, several women who have used the drug Colprone have received a letter from the French National Agency for the Safety of Medicines (ANSM), informing them that they were at increased risk of developing a brain tumor.

The French National Agency for the Safety of Medicines (ANSM) is warning about the use of medrogestone. This progestin known as Colprone could promote the development of a meningioma (a brain tumor).

Beware of this progestin

In recent weeks, women have received a letter from the ANSM informing them of the risks of prolonged use of Colprone (medrogestone)

This drug, similar to progesterone, is used to treat several gynecological disorders such as progesterone deficiency, cycle irregularities, premenstrual syndrome, painful periods and endometriosis.

According to the ANSM, it is a drug that is “effective” but can “promote the development of a meningioma”. The agency explains that these are “most often non-cancerous tumors” but can be the cause of “serious disorders that may require major surgery”.

For women who have taken this treatment, the health authority invites them to consult “without urgency” their doctor who will judge “whether or not it is necessary to perform a brain imaging (MRI)”.

Colprone, Androcur, Dépo Provéra also in the sights of the authorities

The ANSM is thus basing itself on a recent study by the Epi-Phare scientific interest group which demonstrates that “the risk of developing a meningioma is multiplied by 4 for médrogestone beyond one year of treatment”.

The Epi-Phare study also shows that several other progestin drugs pose a risk of meningiomas: Androcur (cyproterone acetate), Lutéran (chlormadinone acetate), Lutényl (nomegestrol), Dépo Provéra (medroxyprogesterone acetate), Colprone (medrogestone) and Sugestone (promegestone). The latter is no longer marketed.

This study is the first at the national level to evaluate the risk of meningioma associated with taking oral contraceptives containing desogestrel and levonorgestrel, widely used in France with more than 3.6 million women concerned in January 2022.

A total of 8,391 women operated on for an intracranial meningioma between 2020 and 2023 in France were included in the study.