November 8, 2013 | 2 minute read

Ovarian cancer is among the most deadly women’s cancers. That’s because its symptoms, such as abdominal bloating, are difficult to diagnose until it has progressed to a late stage. Only 44 percent of ovarian cancer survivors live 5 years past diagnosis.

But results of a new study of post-menopausal women in the Women’s Health Initiative trial unveiled this week at our research conference associate higher diet quality index score in combination with physical activity with greater survival after diagnosis of ovarian cancer. Researchers at the University of Arizona Cancer Center presented these results in a poster at our conference.

The results are not yet published and has not yet gone through the peer-reviewed process.

Study author Tracy Crane, MS, RD, said of the  study, “This secondary analysis supports the ongoing LIVES study, the largest-ever randomized controlled trial (RTC) to investigate the effects of diet, weight and physical activity on ovarian cancer survival.”

She said the LIVES trial expects to recruit nearly 1,100 participants from clinical sites across the US.

Another AICR poster presentation on ovarian cancer from Yale University and the Queensland Institute for Medical Research in Australia presented yet-to-be-published data on survival and diet.

“Results from the associations found in these studies warrant the need for replication,” said Ms. Crane. “We desperately need an intervention trial for ovarian cancer as well as more research studies examining how healthy habits might help women survive gynecological cancers as their rates increase.”

Early next year, AICR/WCRF is publishing a report on preventing ovarian cancer, after systematically analyzing the global research. It’s part of the Continuous Update Project. Here’s the schedule for future reports.

You can follow more research updates on the conference on Twitter — at #AICR13.