Hundreds of women ready to sue over contraceptive jab linked to brain tumours - as doctor warns prescribing drug 'verges on medical negligence'

Hundreds of women in the UK are considering taking legal action over fears a contraceptive jab has put them at risk of a potentially fatal brain tumour.

Every month, about 10,000 prescriptions are handed out in England for medroxyprogesterone acetate, known under the brand name Depo-Provera, NHS data shows.

But a study, published last year, revealed women who had used it for more than a year were five times more likely to suffer a meningioma, a type of brain tumour. It is non-cancerous but can kill by compressing the brain and nerves if it grows too big.

Last October, UK watchdog the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority called for the injection's manufacturer Pfizer to include a warning about the risk in patient information leaflets.

Pfizer also wrote to NHS doctors urging them to stop women from using Depo-Provera immediately if they were diagnosed with a meningioma.

The study by France's National Agency for Medicines and Health Products Safety analysed data on more than 18,000 women in France who'd had surgery for meningioma between 2009 and 2018.

While the number who developed a tumour while using the jab was small, the risk was significantly higher than for those not on it.

MailOnline reported earlier this month how an 18-year-old was advised by her gynaecologist to take the injection to avoid having her period.

Jessica Blake said she has suffered 20 seizures since first taking the injection in January 2024 which she described as 'utterly terrifying'.

While no doctor has been able to directly correlate Ms Blake's seizures with the medroxyprogesterone (Depo-Provera) injection, Ms Blake believes there 'has to be' a connection, given that she suffered from no prior medical conditions.

She said: 'I've gone to A&E every time I've had these seizures and my most recent one led to me ending up in recuse.

'It's so frustrating and I feel lost. It's like a burden on my shoulder – I can't go out without worrying I'm going to have another seizure.'

Dr Anne Henderson, a consultant gynaecologist who worked for the NHS for 17 years, corroberated Ms Blake's beliefs that her seizures occurred as a result of the period delaying pills and subsequent injection,

She said: 'Seizures are very rare but norethisterone and medroxyprogesterone are steroid hormones so they can have impacts on every part of the body, including the brain and the central nervous system.

'Being advised to take medroxyprogesterone is absolutely shocking, verging on medical negligence. These hormones were never designed to control period problems anything short of long-term.

'The data that presents the awful side effects of these hormones is not new, so why are doctors continuing to prescribe these without looking at the cold, hard facts? Women need to be self-educated and question: Why am I taking this? Is this the right thing for me?'

Read More

About 400 US women have launched a class action against Pfizer and other generic makers of the jab.

They allege that the firms were aware of the link with meningioma but failed to adequately warn users of the risks.

All the women developed meningiomas after using the jab for at least a year.

Ahead of a court hearing on Friday in Florida, Virginia Buchanan, from US law firm Levin Papantonio, said: 'This will bring us closer to achieving justice for women who have never been warned about the increased risk of developing a brain tumour.'

A UK medical legal expert, who did not want to be identified, said his firm had been approached by about 200 women who feared the jab was to blame for their meningioma or had put them at increased risk of it.

Pfizer UK said it was unable to make a comment.