A number of men who were tested for prostate cancer at two hospitals - Connolly Hospital in Dublin and Mayo General Hospital - are to have their results reviewed as a result of problems with the testing kits used to diagnose the disease.

The kits, which are made by Siemens, measure levels of the protein, PSA, in the blood. A high PSA level can indicate prostate cancer, as well as other benign conditions.

An international field safety notice was issued by Siemens after it discovered that the diagnostic kit in question was producing readings that were up to 23% higher than other similar tests. This could affect the interpretation of the results.

The testing kits were used at Connolly Hospital between February and June of this year. During that time, almost 2,200 patients were tested for the disease and it is understood that among these, 145 received results which may have required further investigation.

Meanwhile, the kits were also used at Mayo General between July 2012 and June 2013. Almost 12,900 men were tested during this period.

The hospital has said that as a precautionary step, it will review all of these tests ‘to establish how many had an elevated reading to determine if any further actions are necessary'.

The hospital added that when it received the field safety notice on July 1, it ‘immediately ceased PSA testing' with the Siemens kits and starting using a different type of diagnostic kit.

"This incident, which is outside the control of Mayo General Hospital, is considered to be of low clinical risk in relation to long-term negative outcome for patients," the hospital added.

Every year in Ireland, over 2,000 men are newly diagnosed with prostate cancer, while 500 die as a result of the disease. For more information, click here