Detection of skin cancer odours using dogs: a step forward in melanoma detection training and research methodologies

Elliker, Kevin R; Williams, Hywel C

doi:10.1111/bjd.15030

“…However, the following studies have demonstrated canine cancer detection for cancer screening is promising, feasible, and safe (Table 3) [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Detection threshold has been shown to be as low as 1.5 parts per trillion (ppt) [10]. Trained dogs can successfully discriminate between patients with cancers of skin [11,12], bladder [13], lung [14][15][16][17][18], breast [14,19,20], prostate [20][21][22] ovary [23][24][25], colorectal [19,26], liver [27], uterine cervix [28] from controls on the basis of odors in breath, urine, blood or cell culture medium. However, the canine cancer detection testing for breast cancer using human urine samples has not yet been attempted.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Breast Cancer Detection From a Urine Sample by Dog Sniffing

Kure

¹

,

Iida

²

,

Yamada

³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Background: Breast cancer is a leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Several studies have demonstrated that dog can sniff and detect cancer in the breath or urine sample of a patient. Objective: The aim of this study is to assess whether the trained dog can detect breast cancer from urine samples.Methods: A nine-year-old female Labrador Retriever was trained to identify cancer from urine samples of breast cancer patients. Urine samples from patients histologically diagnosed with primary breast cancer, those with non-breast malignant diseases, and healthy volunteers were obtained, and a double-blind test was performed. Results: 40 patients with breast cancer, 142 patients with non-breast malignant diseases, and 18 healthy volunteers were enrolled, and their urine samples were collected. In 40 times out of 40 runs of a double-blind test, the trained dog could correctly identify urine samples of breast cancer patients. Sensitivity and specificity of this breast cancer detection method using dog sniffing were both 100%.Conclusions: The trained dog in this study could accurately detect breast cancer from urine samples of breast cancer patients. These results indicate the feasibility of a method to detect breast cancer from urine samples using dog sniffing in the diagnosis of breast cancer.

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“…Initially, these "anecdotal" events were not supported by evidence. However, the following studies have demonstrated canine cancer detection for cancer screening is promising, feasible, and safe (Table 3) [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28]. Table 3 Published reports on canine detection of various cancer types.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Breast Cancer Detection from a Urine Sample by Dog Sniffing

Kure¹,

Iida

²

,

Yamada

³

et al. 2020

Preprint

1

0

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Breast cancer is a leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Several studies have demonstrated that dog can sniff and detect cancer in the breath or urine sample of a patient. Objective: The aim of this study is to assess whether the trained dog can detect breast cancer from urine samples.Methods: A nine-year-old female Labrador Retriever was trained to identify cancer from urine samples of breast cancer patients. Urine samples from patients histologically diagnosed with primary breast cancer, those with non-breast malignant diseases, and healthy volunteers were obtained, and a double-blind test was performed. Results: 40 patients with breast cancer, 142 patients with non-breast malignant diseases, and 18 healthy volunteers were enrolled, and their urine samples were collected. In 40 times out of 40 runs of a double-blind test, the trained dog could correctly identify urine samples of breast cancer patients. Sensitivity and specificity of this breast cancer detection method using dog sniffing were both 100%.Conclusions: The trained dog in this study could accurately detect breast cancer from urine samples of breast cancer patients. These results indicate the feasibility of a method to detect breast cancer from urine samples using dog sniffing in the diagnosis of breast cancer.

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“…Since the historical case report by Williams et al in 1989 (17), there have been few experiments in the utility of the canine olfactory detection in the medical eld. These experiments were mostly related to the detection of ovarian, prostate, colorectal, and lung cancer (21,23,24,27,28,34,35). However, the use of canine olfactory detection in other areas, including infectious diseases, has been limited.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Following that event, many studies explored the utility of dog olfaction to have such screening or diagnosis. The utility of dogs in the diagnosis of multiple diseases, such as malignancies, diabetes, Parkinson's, seizures, and certain hormonal and enzymatic defects, has been shown by multiple studies (18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29). It is commonly believed that dogs can be trained to detect the "odor signature" of particular molecules and compounds.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sniffer Dogs as a Screening/Diagnostic Tool for COVID-19: A Proof of Concept Study

Shiri

¹

,

Eskandari²,

Aliyazdi³

et al. 2020

SSRN Journal

1

0

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Background: Sniffer dogs have been shown to detect certain chemical particles and to help diagnose many diseases and complications, such as colorectal cancer, melanoma, bladder cancer, and even dangerous states such as hypoglycemia in DM-1 patients. With the spread of COVID-19 throughout the world and the need to have a real-time screening of the population, especially in crowded places, this study aimed to investigate the applicability of these sniffer dogs. Methods: This study was done in two phases. In the rst step, three dogs (including one German shepherd, one German black, one Labrador) were intensively trained by the classical conditioning method for seven weeks. Human specimens were obtained from the throat culture and pharyngeal secretions of both de nitely positive and negative COVID-19 participants. During the rst seven weeks, each dog underwent the conditioning process for averagely 1000 times. In the veri cation process, 80 pharyngeal secretion samples consisting of 26 positive samples of hospitalized patients and 54 negative samples of hospitalized patients for other medical reasons were provided to the training team in a single-blind manner. The veri cation test was done using three dogs (Lexi, Sami, and Kozhi). Another similar conditioning process was done using COVID-19 patients' clothes and masks and the veri cation test was done using 50 positive and 70 negative samples by three other trained dogs (one Labrador, one Border gypsy, and one Golden retriever). Results: In the pharyngeal secretions veri cation test, the sniffer dogs showed 65% sensitivity and 89% speci city. In this process, they could identify 17 out of the 26 true positive samples and 48 out of the 54 true negative samples. According to the results, the positive predictive value and negative predictive value for this experiment were 74% and 84%, respectively. In the next veri cation test for the patients' face masks and clothes, 43 out of the 50 positive samples were correctly identi ed by the dogs. Moreover, out of the 70 negative samples, 65 samples were correctly found to be negative by the canines. The sensitivity of this method was as high as 86% and its speci city was 92.9%. In addition, the positive and negative predictive values were 89.6% and 90.3%, respectively. Conclusion: Dogs are capable of being trained as the identi er of people with COVID-19 by detecting their odor and can be used as a reliable tool in limited screening. body result in a set of certain odors that may be detectable for animals, such as dogs, as they have an extreme olfactory sensation and a very complex and unique analytical mechanism for detecting odors at the molecular level (25). In such a scenario, COVID-19 may not be an exception. At present, the diagnosis of this disease is based on sophisticated biochemical and genetic tests and CT-scan imaging. These modalities are relatively expensive and require accurate medical equipment and interpretation, which are usually positive during the initiation of symptoms. Thus, the golden time may be lost to ...

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Detection of skin cancer odours using dogs: a step forward in melanoma detection training and research methodologies

Cited by 11 publications

References 12 publications

Breast Cancer Detection From a Urine Sample by Dog Sniffing

Breast Cancer Detection From a Urine Sample by Dog Sniffing

Breast Cancer Detection from a Urine Sample by Dog Sniffing

Sniffer Dogs as a Screening/Diagnostic Tool for COVID-19: A Proof of Concept Study

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