Research has suggested that obese women are less likely to survive ovarian cancer than those of normal weight, according to national newspaper The Guardian on Tuesday.

The research done by U.S. scientists suggested for the first time that a woman's weight can affect the course of the disease.

Those who are obese not only have lower survival rates, but the cancer recurs sooner after treatment and they face an earlier death than women who are diagnosed at their ideal body weight.

The research was reportedly the first to identify weight as an independent factor in ovarian cancer disease progression and overall survival, suggesting that there is an element in the fat tissue itself that influences the outcome of this disease in obese women.

In the study, the researchers compared the progression of the disease in 216 women, 35 of whom were obese, and 108 were of ideal weight. The scientists discovered that in addition to their findings on mortality and recurrence of the disease, the cells of the tumors appeared different.

"While further molecular studies are warranted, our study suggests that fat tissue excretes a hormone or protein that causes ovarian cancer cells to grow more aggressively," Andrew Li, the study's principal investigator, was quoted as saying.

The next steps will be to examine this relationship more closely, and to determine the exact biological mechanisms that influence tumor growth in ovarian cancer, Li said.

Previous studies have shown obesity affects both development and progression of breast, uterine and colorectal cancers, but the nature of the relationship in ovarian cancer has been less well understood.

According to the report, nearly 7,000 cases of ovarian cancer were diagnosed in the UK in 2002 with 85 percent in women aged over 50. In 2004 there were 4,434 deaths due to the disease.

The U.S. and northern Europe have the highest ovarian cancer rates in the world, but fewer people understand that being overweight affects their chances of surviving cancer.

Source: Xinhua