The Government was today urged by a leading specialist to create a prostate cancer campaign.
Consultant urinologist Dr Ted McDermott said a screening programme set up along the lines of those established to check on breast and cervical cancer among women would "save a lot of men's lives".
He pointed to a test screening project carried out by Tallaght hospital, when 700 men were screened for prostate and testicular cancer and hundreds of others had to be turned away.
Dr McDermott said: "By doing this we would find out an awful lot of information about prostate cancer here in Ireland and make men a lot more aware of early signs at the same time."
He emphasised the value of detecting prostate cancer early.
"It is one of the commonest forms of cancer in men and the success rate of treatment after early detection are a lot higher."
Dr McDermott said the only way to identify the disease was to assess it on an annual basis through a blood test and an examination on an annual basis from the age of 45.
PA