The French medicines agency (ANSM) urges women who take desogestrel contraceptives to seek medical advice if they develop suggestive symptoms, such as persistent headaches, visual disturbances or memory loss.
A low risk, but one that affects millions of women. In France, 1.6 million women who have taken a desogestrel-based contraceptive (Antigone, Cerazette, Elfasette and Optimizette...) will receive a letter informing them of an increased risk of developing a meningioma, France's National Agency for Medicines and Health Products Safety (ANSM) announced on Thursday. The health authority stresses, however, that this risk remains "low".
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At the same time, around 90,000 doctors who have prescribed these medicines will also be notified.
ANSM recommends that the women concerned consult their doctor if they experience persistent headaches, visual disturbances, muscle weakness, problems with balance or speech, memory loss, or the onset or worsening of epileptic seizures. A brain MRI scan may then be prescribed.
A risk that increases with the length of treatment
Meningioma is a tumour that develops from the meninges, the membranes that surround the brain. Most often benign, it can nonetheless cause significant neurological problems depending on its size and location.
According to a study by the Epi-Phare public interest research group published in 2024, one woman in 67,000 who has taken desogestrel develops a meningioma linked to this contraceptive. After five years of treatment, this proportion rises to one woman in 17,000.
The risk is doubled after seven years of use compared with women who have not taken this contraceptive. However, it disappears one year after stopping treatment. Women over 45, as well as those who have previously taken for more than a year a progestogen regarded as high-risk, are particularly affected.
The risk would nonetheless remain far lower than that associated with other progestogens, such as Androcur, Lutényl, Lutéran, Colprone or Depo Provera, for which monitoring by brain imaging is systematically recommended.
"This risk is low, and bears no comparison with that of Androcur, which was 20 times higher after five years", says Isabelle Yoldjian, ANSM's medical director.
Do not stop contraception without medical advice
ANSM is calling on the women concerned not to stop their contraception without medical advice and is urging them to discuss the issue with their doctor, gynaecologist or midwife at their next consultation.
The health authority also reminds women that any contraception should be reassessed every year with a healthcare professional, depending on each woman's needs and state of health.
Following a request from ANSM, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) this summer approved the addition of the risk of meningioma to the patient information leaflets for these contraceptives.
