Nearly a third of the women who get ovarian cancer, once thought to be among the deadliest of cancers, survive for at least 10 years after diagnosis, a new study finds.

By analyzing a California ovarian cancer database, researchers at UC Davis determined that the survival rate is much higher than previously thought.

In fact, while the study confirmed earlier findings on characteristics associated with ovarian cancer survival -- younger age, earlier stage, and lower-grade tumors at diagnosis increase survival chances -- it also identified a surprising number of long-term survivors who didn't meet those criteria.

Of the 11,541 patients in the registry database, 3,582 (31 percent) survived more than 10 years, the researchers found.

"The perception that almost all women will die of this disease is not correct," says Rosemary Cress, lead author of the paper, published online in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology.