Population screening for prostate cancer could expose men to unnecessary harm, according to a public health expert.

According to Dr Alan Smith, consultant in public health medicine, while screening for this type of cancer would undoubtedly identify more prostate cancers in men, it is also likely that a population approach to screening would expose the majority of men participating in such a programme to unnecessary harms.

Dr Smith said unnecessary biopsies and the complications of treatment for prostate cancer can cause side effects including impotence and incontinence.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in Irish men, with over 2,400 new cases diagnosed each year, and every year over 500 men die from prostate cancer in Ireland.

Dr Smith is speaking at a conference on cancer screening in the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (RCPI) tomorrow.

The meeting will hear that bowel cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer amon gmen and women in Ireland, with 1,900 new cases diagnosed each year.

It has been estimated that by 2020 the number of new cases of colorectal cancer diagnosed each year will increase by over 50% in women and nearly 80% in men.

Ireland now has incidence rates higher than the EU average, the meeting will be told.

The meeting, which will be held in the RCPI in Kildare Street, is open to the public and attendance is free of charge. Tickets can be applied for by emailing college@rcpi.ie or by phoning 01 863 9700.