To celebrate Men’s Health Day, we are highlighting three important prostate cancer studies that are helping Ireland improve early detection, treatment, and overall care for men with prostate cancer: PRAISE‑EU, IPCOR, and PEACE‑6.

PRAISE‑EU is a Europe-wide pilot programme aimed at improving prostate cancer screening. In Ireland, men aged 50–69 in Dublin and Waterford are invited to take part using a simple finger-prick blood test that measures prostate specific antigen, a substance that can indicate prostate problems, including cancer. If levels of this substance are elevated, men may be invited to magnetic resonance imaging scans, which use magnets to create detailed pictures of the prostate to check for unusual areas, and in some cases a biopsy. The study uses a careful approach to detect cancers that need treatment while avoiding unnecessary procedures, and also looks at the emotional and practical impact of screening.

The Irish Prostate Cancer Outcomes Research (IPCOR) registry, now in its second phase, collects long-term clinical information from men referred for prostate biopsy across multiple hospitals in Ireland. Funded by Movember, IPCOR tracks patient experiences, quality of life, and long-term health outcomes while creating a biorepository from the blood, urine, and tissue samples collected for research. Moreover, men complete electronic questionnaires about their health, supportive care needs, and financial concerns before treatment and annually afterward. IPCOR provides regular reports to hospitals and national bodies, helping improve patient care and supporting future clinical trials and research.

Conducted at the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital and St Vincent’s University Hospital and, PEACE‑6 is a clinical trial for men with advanced prostate cancer who may be considered frail or more vulnerable. Participants receive standard hormone-lowering treatment and are randomly assigned to also take darolutamide (a medicine that blocks male hormones that can make prostate cancer grow) or a placebo to see if the combination works better. The study tracks cancer progression, side effects, and quality of life over time, helping doctors find safer and more effective treatments for men with advanced prostate cancer.

For more information, men can learn about PRAISE‑EU at (opens in a new window)www.prostatecheck.ie, IPCOR at (opens in a new window)www.ipcor.ie, and PEACE‑6 on our website Cancer Trials - Cancer Trials Cluster.