Cancer Research UK recently announced that ovarian cancer survival rates in the country have doubled over the past three decades. The figures released on Wednesday were related to the figures for England and Wales.

According to the charity group, five year survival rates for people suffering from ovarian cancer rose to the present rate of 41% from 21% in the early 1970s. Cancer Research UK further informed that the improvement in survival rates meant that 1,000 more women survived ovarian cancer every year for a period of at least five years.

Despite the promising outcome of the study, the charity group opined that a lot of improvement can be made to help improve survival rates for women diagnosed with the condition in advanced stages. Meanwhile, the better survival rates are being seen as a result of better availability of treatment for the condition.

It needs to be pointed out that 6,500 cases of ovarian cancer are diagnosed every year. Apart from that, it also resulted in the death of 4,400 women in 2008 in the UK. Ovarian cancer has been referred to the ‘silent killer’, as its symptoms are not easy to diagnose and on a majority of occasions the condition is detected in advanced stages.

Talking about the trend, Dr. James Brenton, from the Cambridge Research Institute of Cancer Research UK, said: "These latest figures show improvements in treatment, such as centralization of ovarian cancer surgery and uniform access to chemotherapy, are making a difference in helping more women survive ovarian cancer, particularly those who are diagnosed earlier".