A recent study from France, shared by the BMJ, has found that using certain hormone medications for a long time could increase the risk of getting a brain tumor known as an intracranial meningioma.
This research is groundbreaking because it’s the first time the risk has been studied for these hormone drugs, which are used by millions of women across the globe for various health issues.
The scientists behind this study are calling for more research to understand this risk better.
The hormones in question are a type of drug called progestogens. These are similar to progesterone, a natural hormone in the body.
Women often use these drugs for different health conditions like endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome, hormone therapy during menopause, and as a part of some birth control methods.
Meningiomas are usually non-cancerous tumors that grow in the tissues covering the brain and spinal cord.
Certain factors like being older, female, and using high doses of specific progestogens already point to a higher risk of developing these tumors. However, the risk linked to many other progestogens wasn’t known until now.
To fill this knowledge gap, a team of researchers decided to look into the real-world risk of women needing surgery for intracranial meningioma because of using various progestogens.
They used health data from France, focusing on over 18,000 women who had surgery for this kind of tumor between 2009 and 2018. They compared these women to about 90,000 women who didn’t have the tumor, matching them by birth year and where they lived.
The study looked at different progestogens, including ones used in intrauterine devices (IUDs), and checked if the women had been prescribed these drugs in the year before they went to the hospital or, for some IUDs, within 3-5 years.
They found that using some of these hormone treatments for a year or more was linked to a higher risk of needing surgery for a brain tumor.
Specifically, using medrogestone increased the risk four times, medroxyprogesterone acetate injections raised it more than five times, and promegestone almost tripled the risk. Short-term use, less than a year, didn’t seem to carry the same risk.
The study also confirmed the known risks with three other progestogens but found no increased risk with progesterone, dydrogesterone, or the most common hormonal IUDs, no matter the dose.
Because this is an observational study, it can’t prove that these drugs cause the tumors. Plus, the researchers didn’t have access to every detail, like why each woman was prescribed these medications, and couldn’t account for things like genetic factors or exposure to radiation.
Given the vast number of women using these hormone treatments, especially medroxyprogesterone acetate for birth control, the impact could be significant. The study’s authors are urging for more research to dive deeper into this issue and provide clearer answers.
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The research findings can be found in The BMJ.
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