Nearly 3,000 men will be diagnosed with prostrate cancer this year. Ireland has the highest incidence of the disease in Europe. Diagnosis is primarily done by means of a PSA blood test, physical examination or biopsy. A major study published by the University of London last week indicates that as many of half of the men who develop prostate cancer in the United Kingdom may have been wrongly given the all-clear as a result of the inaccurate diagnosis of standard biopsies. The research recommends that patients suspected of having prostate cancer undergo an MRI scan prior to a biopsy being carried out. Health economists calculate that the use of an MRI scan would result in one quarter of men suspected of having prostate cancer being given the all-clear without having to undergo the invasive diagnostic procedure. Not only would the use of MRI technology, as recommended by the University of London, detect more cases of prostate cancer, but it would also lead to fewer false positive outcomes and spare hundreds of men unnecessary and painful surgery, which can have distressing side-effects, including incontinence and impotence.

Is the Government aware that there may be serious problems with the screening process for prostate cancer? Is it aware that prostate cancer receives approximately one sixth of the funding allocated to common female cancers? In the past six years, investment in research for prostate cancer diagnosis amounted to €62 per diagnosis as compared to €477 per ovarian cancer diagnosis, €453 per cervical cancer diagnosis and €288 for breast cancer diagnosis. I ask the Government to give a commitment to commission an investigation into this major imbalance? Will the Minister ask the Minister for Health, Deputy Reilly, to examine the possibility of introducing MRI screening for men suspected of having prostate cancer prior to a biopsy taking place?

I would be interested in the cost-benefit analysis based on the estimated amount of a biopsy deemed unnecessary as a result of an MRI scan.

The Minister might ask why I am asking this on Leaders' Questions.

We are over time.

This is a critical issue and the seriousness of the report released in England last week cannot be underestimated for the sake of the health of men who might be diagnosed with prostate cancer over the next couple of months or years and how we deal with diagnosing prostate cancer.

I thank the Deputy.

The report recommends discontinuing the biopsy and PSA blood test, and that we do MRI scanning. It has been proved beyond a shadow of doubt in England that this is the way forward.

I thank the Deputy.

We cannot allow this to drag on for weeks or months. I ask the Minister to make a clear statement on this or to ask the Minister for Health in the next couple of weeks to-----

I ask the Deputy to adhere to the Chair. He is way over time.

-----refute the study in England or to come back to us with his proposals.

This is a serious issue which deserves a serious and detailed response. I am limited in what I can say owing to my knowledge in this area. However, if the University of London has produced a report that exposes weaknesses in the screening system for prostate cancer in Ireland, that is a serious issue and of course we need to look into it. I give the Deputy a commitment that I will speak to the Minister for Health, Deputy Reilly, and ask him to give the Deputy a comprehensive response. To be fair to him and to many patients, we should not raise fears among people until the Department of Health has had an opportunity to respond comprehensively to the concerns the Deputy has raised.

Many men go through a screening process and unfortunately, as the Deputy has outlined, a significant number have prostate cancer that needs to be treated. If by using MRI scanning prior to a biopsy we can improve the accuracy and if that can be done in a way that is practical and makes sense, then obviously we should consider it. I should leave it to the Minister for Health to respond in a more comprehensive way to the Deputy's question.

I am not sure if the Minister is aware there is a high risk of sepsis from the biopsies that take place. I am somewhat taken aback that we have not up to now issued any statement on a comprehensive study undertaken by a hospital that is recognised across Europe as being to the forefront of dealing with prostate cancer. There are 141 male Deputies and based on statistics, 17 or 18 of us can expect to be told we have prostate cancer at some time in our lives. If the University of London report holds true, and outdated and inaccurate diagnosis techniques are responsible for many errors, surely we should deal with this immediately. I appeal to the Minister to look at this study by a renowned oncologist in that university, which categorically states that almost half of the diagnosis of cancer based on PSA scanning biopsies etc. have now proved inaccurate. I am not a medical man - maybe what they are suggesting is inaccurate but I do not believe it is. We cannot wait too long given that every day of the week a man in Ireland is diagnosed with prostate cancer.

I give the commitment to raise it this week with the Minister for Health, Deputy Reilly, and we will get a detailed response to the Deputy as quickly as is feasible.

I thank the Minister.