If you used the birth control shot Depo-Provera and were later diagnosed with a meningioma (a tumor of the brain or spinal cord) you are not alone, and you may have legal options. A growing body of research links this injection to meningioma, and thousands of women have filed claims against the drug’s maker, Pfizer. This page explains what a meningioma is, what the science shows, what Pfizer knew, and how to find out whether you qualify.
What Is Depo-Provera?
Depo-Provera is a long-acting birth control shot given about once every three months. Its active ingredient is medroxyprogesterone acetate, a synthetic form of the hormone progesterone. The drug has been on the U.S. market since 1992 and has been owned by Pfizer since 2002.
There are two versions of the injection. The intramuscular version of the shot has been on the market since 1992 and is injected into a muscle, usually the buttock or upper arm. There is also a lower-dose subcutaneous version of the shot that is injected just under the skin, usually in the thigh or abdomen, which has been on the market since 2004. If you don’t remember which one you received, you don’t have to sort this out on your own – a medical record review confirms it. Either version of the injection may qualify you.
Depo-Provera has been widely used for a long time. Studies indicate that as many as one in four sexually active U.S. women aged 15 to 44 have received a birth control injection at some point in their lives.
What is a Meningioma?
A meningioma is a tumor that forms in the meninges, the thin layers of tissue that wrap around and protect the brain and spinal cord. It is the single most common type of primary brain tumor, making up about 42% of them. Roughly 39,000 people are diagnosed with one each year in the United States, and they occur in women more than twice as often as in men.
Most meningiomas are benign. That does not mean they are harmless.
This is the point you’ll hear most often, and it deserves an honest answer. “Benign” means the tumor doesn’t spread to other parts of the body. It does not mean the tumor is safe to have. A meningioma grows in a fixed space and presses on whatever sits beside it. A benign, low-grade tumor pressing against the optic nerve can still cause blindness, still require a surgeon to open the skull to remove it, and still leave permanent damage that keeps someone from working.
How serious a meningioma is depends on where it sits, what it presses on, what treatment it demanded, and what it left behind — not on the grade alone.
Symptoms
A meningioma may cause no symptoms at all and be discovered by accident on a scan done for another reason. When it does cause symptoms, they depend on where the tumor sits, and can include:
- Headaches
- Vision changes or vision loss
- Hearing loss or ringing in the ears
- Seizures
- Weakness or numbness
- Balance problems
- Memory changes or personality changes
- Cognitive difficulty
What treatment involves
Treatment depends on the tumor’s size, location, growth rate, and symptoms. Options include observation with periodic imaging, surgical removal, radiation therapy, or a combination of these. Surgery is common. And even women whose tumors are treated successfully often face lifelong MRI monitoring, ongoing medication, and the knowledge that the tumor could return.
How Is Depo-Provera Linked to Meningioma?
The connection between this injection and meningioma is supported by large, independent studies.
The strongest U.S. evidence comes from a 2025 study in JAMA Neurology by researchers at Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland Clinic. Drawing on records from more than ten million American women (including 88,668 who received the injection) they found that women who used it had about 2.4 times the risk of a meningioma diagnosis compared with matched women who did not. A 2026 meta-analysis, which pools findings across studies, reported more than a threefold higher risk with two or more years of use.
The study that first drew wide attention was published in the BMJ in 2024. It found that prolonged use of the injection was associated with a roughly five-fold increase in the odds of an intracranial meningioma.
The risk is specific to this injection
One of the most important findings is what these studies did not show. The elevated risk did not appear for hormonal IUDs, and it did not appear for birth control pills. The signal is tied specifically to this injectable medication, a distinction that separates it from birth control generally.
At the same time, it’s worth keeping the numbers in perspective. Meningioma is uncommon, and as researchers themselves have noted, a large increase in the risk of a rare condition is still, in absolute terms, a small risk for any one person.
If you are currently using Depo-Provera, do not stop on your own. Talk to your doctor first. Stopping birth control abruptly carries its own risks, and your doctor can help you weigh your options and choose a safe alternative.
What Did Pfizer Know, and When?
The heart of the concern is not only that Depo-Provera is linked to meningioma. It is that the evidence built for years while women in the United States were never warned.
The signals reached Pfizer directly. As early as 1997, a neurosurgeon reported to the company that Depo-Provera appeared to have accelerated a patient’s meningioma growth. The company’s own Canadian product label listed meningioma as an adverse reaction starting in 2006. And by 2022, Pfizer had received more than 50 reports of meningioma tied to its medroxyprogesterone products.
Yet in the United States, the label carried no meningioma warning for decades.
Who Can File a Claim?
You may have a claim if two things are true: you were diagnosed with a meningioma, and you received one or more Depo-Provera injections (or an authorized generic version) before that diagnosis.
Two things you do not need to know:
- You don’t need to know who made your shot. Most women were simply told it was “the birth control shot” or “generic Depo-Provera,” and the insurance billing code is even the same for the brand and its authorized generics. A records review sorts this out.
- You don’t need to know the exact tumor type. A meningioma diagnosis qualifies, and so does a brain tumor whose type you were never told.
The best way to find out where you stand is a free case review. If your name has changed since you received the shots, mention it. Matching older medical records is easier when your attorney has every name you’ve used.
Frequently Asked Questions
Large studies link the injection to meningioma, a tumor of the brain and spinal cord. A 2025 study of more than ten million U.S. women found about 2.4 times the risk among women who used it, and the risk rises with longer use.
Most meningiomas are benign, meaning they don’t spread to other parts of the body. But they can still cause serious harm — seizures, vision loss, and lasting effects from surgery — depending on their size and location.
Don’t stop on your own. Talk to your doctor first, who can help you choose a safe alternative.
Yes. Most women were never told, and the billing code is the same for the brand and its authorized generics. A records review determines this.
Trusted Sources on Meningioma
- Fact Sheet – Central Brain Tumor Registry of the United States (CBTRUS)
- Counseling Patients on Birth Control Injection and Meningioma – American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG)
- Depo-Provera CI Prescribing Information – U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
- Use of progestogens and the risk of intracranial meningioma – BMJ
- Depot Medroxyprogesterone Acetate and Risk of Meningioma in the US – JAMA Neurology
- Meningioma – Cleveland Clinic
- Meningioma: Diagnosis and Treatment – National Cancer Institute (NCI)