International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics

A new study has indicated that many women with ovarian cancer are facing delays in receiving a diagnosis despite reporting symptoms to their doctor.

The British Medical Journal reports that women with a distended abdomen should be sent for tests to see if they have the disease, but says many doctors are missing this indicator because it is not included in existing guidance for urgent investigation.

Researchers at the University of Bristol, UK, analysed the symptoms experienced by the women and discovered that many had told their GP about them, but not been referred.

They commented: "Women with ovarian cancer usually have symptoms and report them to primary care, sometimes months before diagnosis.

"Several recent studies have shown that symptoms are common though they often go unrecognised by women and doctors."

According to Cancer Research UK, ovarian cancer rates for women in their 50s and early 60s are nearly 20 per cent lower than they were in 1998.