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Saturday, 14 June, 2025
HomeNews UpdateOverweight women more at risk of ovarian cancer

Overweight women more at risk of ovarian cancer

Putting on weight can increase women’s risk of ovarian cancer, according to a new assessment of the evidence. [s]The Guardian[/s] reports that in the UK, more than 7,000 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer every year and there are about 4,300 deaths. If icaught early, more than 90% of women will survive for at least five years, but at the late stage that drops to less than 10%.

The [b]World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF)[/b], which works on the prevention of cancer, has published an update of the risks for ovarian cancer, as part of its [b]Continuous Update Project[/b]. For the first time, it says that overweight and obesity are a probable cause. Weight is known to be an issue in some other cancers, including breast and bowel cancer, the report says. In the UK 61% of people (57% of women) are overweight or obese which, says the WCRF, puts them at greater risk of developing one of eight types of cancer than their normal-weight neighbours.

[link url=http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/mar/11/ovarian-cancer-risk-weight-gain]Full report in The Guardian[/link]
[link url=http://www.dietandcancerreport.org/cup/current_progress/ovarian_cancer.php]WCRF Literature Review[/link]

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