Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Book

Medroxyprogesterone

Abha Sathe  1 , Preeti Patel, Valerie Gerriets  2
In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan.
.
Affiliations
Book

Medroxyprogesterone

Abha Sathe et al.

Excerpt

Medroxyprogesterone is used to prevent pregnancy in females of reproductive potential and for women experiencing amenorrhea due to hormonal imbalance, excluding organic pathologies such as fibroids and uterine cancer. Additionally, medroxyprogesterone is used for abnormal uterine bleeding due to ovulatory dysfunction, prevention of endometrial hyperplasia, pain related to endometriosis, and in patients with inoperable, recurrent, and/or metastatic endometrial carcinoma as adjunctive and/or palliative treatment. Medroxyprogesterone, a progestin, is similar in structure to naturally occurring progesterone. The mechanism of action of progestin involves binding the progesterone receptor in the hypothalamus, female reproductive tract, and pituitary and inhibiting the secretion of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH).

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure: Abha Sathe declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

Disclosure: Preeti Patel declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

Disclosure: Valerie Gerriets declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

References

    1. Mishell DR. Pharmacokinetics of depot medroxyprogesterone acetate contraception. J Reprod Med. 1996 May;41(5 Suppl):381-90. - PubMed
    1. Westhoff C. Depot-medroxyprogesterone acetate injection (Depo-Provera): a highly effective contraceptive option with proven long-term safety. Contraception. 2003 Aug;68(2):75-87. - PubMed
    1. Practice bulletin no. 136: management of abnormal uterine bleeding associated with ovulatory dysfunction. Obstet Gynecol. 2013 Jul;122(1):176-185. - PubMed
    1. Tamauchi S, Kajiyama H, Utsumi F, Suzuki S, Niimi K, Sakata J, Mizuno M, Shibata K, Kikkawa F. Efficacy of medroxyprogesterone acetate treatment and retreatment for atypical endometrial hyperplasia and endometrial cancer. J Obstet Gynaecol Res. 2018 Jan;44(1):151-156. - PubMed
    1. Barra F, Scala C, Ferrero S. Current understanding on pharmacokinetics, clinical efficacy and safety of progestins for treating pain associated to endometriosis. Expert Opin Drug Metab Toxicol. 2018 Apr;14(4):399-415. - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources