That dog who gooses you may just save your life.
Researchers at the Hospital were inspired to train dogs for the cause as they believe that cancer cells release molecules into the urine that have a characteristic smell of the disease, it said.
One of the first cases to reach the medical literature reported a woman who had gone to the doctor after her dog started sniffing suspiciously around a skin sore. It turned out to be a malignant tumour, it said.
Trainers worked on the dogs for seven months and trained them to detect the unique odour signature of cancer, compared to those of infections, inflammation or blood, it said.
The trainers also coached the dogs to discriminate between the urine of cancer patients and those with other bladder conditions, it said.
After the training was over, the dogs were asked to choose between laboratory dishes of seven types of urine and lie down in front of the one from a cancer patient, it said.
When the trained dogs were put to the test, they were correct over 40 per cent of the time, says Willis.
Auburn University’s Canine & Detection Research Institute conducts some fascinating research on canine olfaction, although they focus on other uses for it:
http://www.vetmed.auburn.edu/ibds/