Cancer detection: Up to 400 lives a year could be saved if bowel cancer screening was introduced in the Republic for people over 50 and for everybody with a family history of the disease, it has been predicted.
More than 900 people a year, of whom over half are men, die from bowel cancer in Ireland making it the leading cause of death from cancer.
Consultant gastroenterologist Prof Colm O'Morain pointed out that pilot screening schemes in Britain - notably in Sheffield and Dundee - were being extended because of their success in detecting cases.
Prof O'Morain is professor of medicine at Trinity College Dublin and consultant gastroenterologist at Tallaght Hospital.
His prediction coincided with the release of a survey showing that only a minority of men know they have a one-in-three chance of getting cancer in their lifetime and the majority fail to take preventive measures. It was published by the Irish Cancer Society (ICS) to mark its annual Men's Cancer Action Week which this year focuses on bowel cancer.
While the ICS has not called for a national screening programme, it says that "if there is a history of bowel cancer in the family, screening can work as a preventative tool as well as an early detection tool".
The national survey of 1,200 Irish males, published by the ICS, reveals a relatively low level of knowledge about cancer among men.
Only 20 per cent of men know that they have a one in three chance of developing cancer during their lifetime. The majority of men do not know what the most common male cancers are - these are prostate, bowel, lung, testicular and skin and they affect up to 6,100 men per annum.
Only 40 per cent know that prostate cancer, which approximately 1,300 men in Ireland develop every year, is the most common male cancer, and only 29 per cent recognise bowel cancer as one of the most common cancers in men.
The survey also shows that 69 per cent of men agree that most ignore the warning signs if they think they might have cancer. Eighty-five per cent of men agree that most wait too long before going to the doctor for treatment.
Only 26 per cent of respondents say they get regular check-ups with their GP, only 39 per cent say they eat a healthy diet as a way of reducing their risk of cancer and only 13 per cent would recognise the warning signs of cancer.
"Risk factors for the development of the common cancers in men are age, having a family history - especially in bowel and prostate cancer - eating a diet which is high in fat and low in fruit, vegetables and fibre, lack of physical activity, obesity, smoking and alcohol," according to Prof John Armstrong, consultant radiation oncologist, St Luke's Hospital, and chairman of the ICS. "Men need to increase their daily intake of fresh fruit and vegetables; eat a range of foods high in fibre, increase physical activity and limit intake of fatty foods, maintain a healthy range and moderate the amount of alcohol they drink.
"They should also discuss their family history of cancer with their GP who will advise on screening," he added.
If men become aware of any symptoms that might be related to cancer, they should discuss these with their GP without delay. "Early detection of cancer gives the best chance of successful outcome and long-term survival," Prof Armstrong said. He was speaking at the launch of Men's Cancer Action Week.