Hormonal contraceptives linked to increased risk of rare brain tumors

Health authorities, including the Agency for Medicinal Products and Medical Devices (HALMED) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA), have issued a warning regarding a small but increased risk of meningioma—a rare brain tumor—associated with the long-term use of certain hormonal contraceptives.

The warning concerns medications containing the progestogens desogestrel or etonogestrel, used alone or in combination with estrogen. In Croatia, the drug Novynette, which contains desogestrel, is currently approved. The risk data is based on a large French epidemiological study involving over 8,000 women who underwent surgery for meningioma.

Research estimates that approximately one additional case of meningioma occurs for every 67,300 women using desogestrel long-term compared to those who do not. The risk increases with the duration of use, particularly after seven years. However, data suggests that the elevated risk is no longer observed one year after discontinuing the use of desogestrel.