Results fears as cancer test kit recalled

A test kit used as an aid in detecting prostate cancer at a Dublin hospital has been withdrawn after it emerged it was producing results that may have led to a substantial number of unnecessary biopsies.

Connolly Hospital stopped using the Siemens Prostate Specific Antigen test kit at the end of June after being notified by the manufacturers that it was producing results 20%-23% too high relative to the World Health Organisation standard. The test measures the blood level of PSA, a protein produced by the prostate gland.

A high PSA level can be an indicator of cancer.