Dogs Come to Help in Cancer Detection

Daisy, an eleven-year-old dog in Britain, is capable of detecting early signs of prostate cancer. Daisy is one of the dogs whose participation in a pilot project for prostate cancer detection has been approved by the UK’s Public Health Agency. They can detect substances that grow alongside prostate cancer in patients' bodies. Dr. Claire Guest established the Medical Detection Dogs charity in Britain to train special dogs for diagnosing diseases in humans. She states that dogs have three hundred million olfactory receptors in their noses, whereas humans only have five million. Dr. Guest told Reuters, "Today we know that the way cancer cells divide and multiply is different, and usually, substances that have a very strong odor grow alongside these cells. Dogs can detect the presence of these substances in some cases by sniffing the urine or breath of individuals." In the training sessions, these dogs move around a special device in a laboratory where urine samples from various individuals are placed in petri dishes. The dogs can distinguish the difference when they smell urine contaminated with cancer and stop in front of the dish, sitting down. Dr. Guest says, "Dogs can sniff hundreds and thousands of different things every day; it's easy for them and they enjoy it. But the important thing in their work is detecting the odor of cancer-related substances." Initial tests have shown that these dogs can correctly identify about 90 percent of cases. Researchers hope that trained dogs' sense of smell can be used as another tool for testing prostate cancer in the future. The current testing method for prostate cancer has a very high error rate. But can these dogs only detect the odor related to prostate cancer? Dr. Rowena Fletcher from Milton Keynes University Hospital in England says, "Many diseases leave specific chemical signatures in the patient's body. Therefore, in the future, we may be able to train dogs to detect the odor of chemical substances associated with other diseases." The next step and ultimate goal of scientists in this project is to produce an electronic nose that can match the olfactory abilities of dogs. Dr. Fletcher told Reuters, "Ultimately, the result of this research will lead to the creation of a small device that specialist doctors can use in their offices to diagnose diseases based on urine samples, exhaled air, and other chemical identifiers in the body." There is still a long way to go to reach that stage, but technological advancements could simplify the creation of a device with the olfactory power of dogs. Until scientific advancements yield results, dogs, humanity's old companions, can play an important role in detecting prostate cancer.