Those who drank two or more cups of black or green tea were found to be almost 50 per cent less likely to get the disease, according to a report published in the American journal Archives of Internal Medicine.

Previous laboratory and animal research has suggested that green and black tea can inhibit the growth of certain cancers but this is thought to be the first population-based study to demonstrate a specific link with lower ovarian cancer rates.

A group of more than 61,000 women from central Sweden, aged 40 to 76, were asked to record how often they consumed 67 food and drink items between 1987 and 1990.

The researchers examined ovarian cancer incidence in the group in December 2004 and found 301 cases.

Just over two thirds, 68 per cent, reported drinking tea, mainly black tea.

Women who drank less than one cup of tea per day on average were 18 per cent less likely to get ovarian cancer than those who did not drink tea.

One cup per day reduced the risk by 24 per cent and drinking two or more cups of tea per day was associated with a 46 per cent reduced risk of getting the disease. The researchers found no link between coffee consumption and the risk of ovarian cancer.

The research was carried out by Susanna Larsson and Prof Alicja Wolk, from the National Institute of Environmental Medicine at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm.

They concluded: "In summary, our results from a large population-based cohort of Swedish women suggest that tea consumption may lower the risk of ovarian cancer.

"This association does not depend on lower coffee consumption among women with high tea consumption.

"Coffee is not associated with ovarian cancer risk in this cohort."

Tea contains polyphenols, compounds found in plants with antioxidant properties, including catechins, theaflavins, thearubigins, and flavanols.

These have been shown to inhibit the development of cancers in laboratory and animal models.

Each year around 6,900 women in the UK are diagnosed with ovarian cancer, with more than 4,600 deaths annually.

According to Cancer Research UK, the majority of ovarian cancer cases are diagnosed at a late stage and survival rates beyond five years are low.

Ovarian cancer is also the fourth most common cause of cancer death in women in Britain.

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