Late diagnoses of ovarian cancer could come down to public confusion about the screening process

A new Ovarian Cancer Foundation report shows almost half of all women in New Zealand with the disease, are being diagnosed in emergency departments.

Overall about 85 percent of women with ovarian cancer aren't diagnosed until they are at stage three or four.

Report Author Alicia Didsbury says nearly two-thirds of survey respondents thought cervical screening detects the disease.

But she says it can only be found early with symptom detection.