Dogs Detecting Cancer

Can dogs sniff out cancer?

In the People magazine issue for the week of August 24, 2009, there is an article on dogs detecting cancer. Do you think they can?

According to the article, entitled “These Dogs Might Save Your Life” (page 113), Michael McCulloch of the Pine Street Foundation in San Anselmo CA, has been studying this phenomenon for the past 10 years.  Several years ago, his research team trained a group of canines to sniff out lung and breast cancer.  The dogs were able to detect breast cancer 88% of the time, and lung cancer 99% of the time. McCulloch is now working with the University of Maine to train a new group of dogs to detect ovarian cancer.

McCulloch doesn’t work with just any dogs.  The canines have to properly pick out a cancerous lab sample 30 times before making the team.  Five samples are placed in specimen boxes and lined up in a row. One box contains a breath sample from a woman with ovarian cancer, while the other four boxes contain breath samples from healthy adults.

According to the article, while cancer may not necessarily have a smell, McCulloch believes the dogs detect the metabolic waste of tumor cells, which have a different chemical make-up from normal cells.  This waste travels through the bloodstream and is exhaled through the lungs.

The dogs used in the study do not live at the laboratory.  They are family pets whose owners have volunteered to be part of this important study.

Photo credit: Mark Watson (kalimistuk) via flickr

August 24th, 2009 by Beth VanHoose | Posted in Dog Training | (0)