A 53-year-old biologist pharmacist from Albigensia recounts how her life turned upside down after taking Androcur for 10 years to treat ovarian cysts.
Prescribed to thousands of women since the 1980s as a contraceptive or acne treatment by Bayer laboratories, this progestogen is now accused of greatly increasing the risk of meningioma, a brain tumor that is generally benign but can cause serious sequelae such as memory problems, epilepsy or loss of taste and smell. Belonging to the class of steroidal antiandrogens, Androcur is also used to treat advanced prostate cancer and hirsutism in women, an extreme development of hair growth.
Eight brain tumors discovered
While she was walking, Catherine Gayrard says that she suddenly started running. “I lost control of my legs, with speech problems.” She had just had a cerebral edema. The fiftieth birthday wakes up two days later in the hospital, her neurosurgeon asks her: “Are you taking Androcur?” Yes. “Stop immediately.” During examinations, doctors discovered eight brain tumors, three of which were the size of a ping pong ball.
One of them was removed three weeks later, but Catherine Gayrard has lived for a year and a half with seven meningiomas. Since she stopped taking Androcur, however, their sizes have not changed. “During my MRI last April, there had been no change, which gives me comfort in the hypothesis that Androcur is responsible for what happened to me.” Today she suffers fromtinnitus, impaired memory, concentration and chronic fatigue. Catherine Gayrard no longer travels, no longer drives: “When I come home from work, most of the time, I go straight to bed. My life has completely changed. “
Androcur increases the risk of meningioma by 7 to 20
Prescribed to 80% of women (57,000 in 2017, according to Health Insurance), Androcur is indeed suspected of multiplying by 7 to 20 the risk of meningioma depending on the duration of treatment. On his website, the National Medicines Safety Agency (ANSM) recognizes that since 2009, “cyproterone acetate has been the subject of special monitoring following the signal issued by France at European level on the risk of the appearance of meningioma . The evaluation of this signal by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) led to this risk being included in the leaflet of the medicinal product in 2011 “.
A toll-free number has been set up and is accessible from Monday to Friday from 9 am to 7 pm: 805 040 110. The Minister of Health Agnès Buzyn has recommended that patients treated with Androcur contact their general practitioner as soon as possible. .
For its part, the ANSM created in June “a temporary specialized scientific committee (CSST) which aims to discuss the conditions of use and prescription of these drugs in order to limit this risk”. New recommendations developed with health professionals should be issued “by the end of the year”.
“Are you taking Androcur?” Yes. “Stop immediately.” The Dispatch reports this Monday, the story of Catherine Gayrard, a 53-year-old Albigensian pharmacist and biologist, who saw her life turn upside down after taking Androcur for ten years to treat ovarian cysts.
Prescribed to thousands of women since the 1980s as a contraceptive or acne treatment by Bayer laboratories, this progestogen is now accused of greatly increasing the risk of meningioma, a brain tumor that is generally benign but can cause serious sequelae such as memory problems, epilepsy or loss of taste and smell. Belonging to the class of steroidal antiandrogens, Androcur is also used to treat advanced prostate cancer and hirsutism in women, an extreme development of hair growth.
Eight brain tumors discovered
While she was walking, Catherine Gayrard says that she suddenly started running. “I lost control of my legs, with speech problems.” She had just had a cerebral edema. The fiftieth birthday wakes up two days later in the hospital, her neurosurgeon asks her: “Are you taking Androcur?” Yes. “Stop immediately.” During examinations, doctors discovered eight brain tumors, three of which were the size of a ping pong ball.
One of them was removed three weeks later, but Catherine Gayrard has lived for a year and a half with seven meningiomas. Since she stopped taking Androcur, however, their sizes have not changed. “During my MRI last April, there had been no change, which gives me comfort in the hypothesis that Androcur is responsible for what happened to me.” Today she suffers fromtinnitus, impaired memory, concentration and chronic fatigue. Catherine Gayrard no longer travels, no longer drives: “When I come home from work, most of the time, I go straight to bed. My life has changed completely. “
Androcur increases the risk of meningioma by 7 to 20
Prescribed to 80% of women (57,000 in 2017, according to Health Insurance), Androcur is indeed suspected of multiplying by 7 to 20 the risk of meningioma depending on the duration of treatment. On his website, the National Medicines Safety Agency (ANSM) recognizes that since 2009, “cyproterone acetate has been the subject of special monitoring following the signal issued by France at European level on the risk of the appearance of meningioma . The evaluation of this signal by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) led to this risk being included in the leaflet of the medicinal product in 2011 “.
A toll-free number has been set up and is accessible from Monday to Friday from 9 am to 7 pm: 805 040 110. The Minister of Health Agnès Buzyn has recommended that patients treated with Androcur contact their general practitioner as soon as possible. .
For its part, the ANSM created in June “a temporary specialized scientific committee (CSST) which aims to discuss the conditions of use and prescription of these drugs in order to limit this risk”. New recommendations developed with health professionals should be issued “by the end of the year”.
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