International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics

A new study claims that women suffering with gynaecological cancers could have surgery without losing their fertility.

Opposed to the traditional treatments that remove both ovaries and the uterus, which ends the fertility of women, research at Columbia University claims five-year survival rates for stage 1 ovarian cancer patients were the same whether both ovaries or just the cancerous ovary were removed.

Survival rates were similar if the uterus had been removed or not, according to the study, published in the Cancer journal.

Dr Beth Y Karlan, director of the Women's Cancer Research Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre, said: "If the woman is young, pre-menopausal and is considering future childbearing, she does not need a hysterectomy and she does not need to be completely castrated.

"It is safe to do a conservation procedure and still affect a cure and allow the woman to appreciate her life goals. With stage 1, cure is a very realistic goal."

Scientists at the Cancer Research UK Genetic Epidemiology Unit at the University of Cambridge and University College London recently claimed a genetic flaw led to increased risks of ovarian cancer.