(Reported by Susan Aldridge) PhD, medical journalist Europe has one of the world’s highest rates of ovarian cancer, but it is declining in some countries, while increasing in others. Risk factors for ovarian cancer include family history, having few or no children and, perhaps, diet, while oral contraceptive use may be protective. A team in Lyon, France, has been looking into trends in ovarian cancer in 28 European countries and finds that variation in these risk factors might be affecting rates of the disease. In general, rates of ovarian cancer are going down in northern Europe, but are increasing in southern and eastern Europe. It may be that declining birth rates in some countries are having an effect. Linked to this, perhaps, is the increase in oral contraceptive use over the last few decades – especially in northern countries, where this happened before it did elsewhere. There has been a welcome decline in mortality from ovarian cancer – especially in the north – which may be due to improved diagnosis and treatment
