The Use of Canines in the Detection of Human Cancers

Gordon, Ryan R.; Schatz, Carole Beck; Myers, Lance; Kosty, Michael P.; Gonczy, Constance; Kroener, Joan F.; Tran, Mary; Kurtzhals, Pamela; Heath, Susan; Koziol, James A.; Arthur, N. P.; Gabriel, M Emmanuel; Hemping, Judy; Hemping, Gordon; Nesbitt, Sally; Tucker-Clark, Lydia; Zaayer, J

doi:10.1089/acm.2006.6408

Cited by 130 publications

(94 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…However, under controlled circumstances they may be used in experiments to further explore this very interesting new property of malignancies. Similar suggestions were recently published by Gordon et al 6 …”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Human Ovarian Carcinomas Detected by Specific Odor

Horváth

Järverud²,

Järverud³

et al. 2008

Integr Cancer Ther

129

120

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The high mortality rate associated with ovarian carcinoma is mainly owing to late diagnosis. It is thus essential to develop inexpensive and simple methods for early diagnosis. Papers on canine scent detection of malignancies such as melanoma and bladder, lung, and breast cancer have recently been published in peer-reviewed journals, indicating a new diagnostic tool for malignancies. However, in these studies the dogs may have responded to odors associated with cancer, such as inflammation or metabolic products, rather than specifically to cancer itself. Therefore, it is important to ascertain whether or not human cancers are characterized by specific odors. We hypothesized that if ovarian carcinoma emits a specific odor, dogs may be trained to detect it. Using our training method, we taught a dog to distinguish different histopathological types and grades of ovarian carcinomas, including borderline tumors, from healthy control samples. Double-blind tests showed 100% sensitivity and 97.5% specificity. Moreover, the odor of ovarian carcinomas seems to differ from those of other gynecological malignances such cervical, endometrial, and vulvar carcinomas. Our study strongly suggests that the most common ovarian carcinomas are characterized by a single specific odor.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Human Ovarian Carcinomas Detected by Specific Odor

Horváth

Järverud²,

Järverud³

et al. 2008

Integr Cancer Ther

129

120

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“…The outstanding sensitivity of the canine olfactory system has been acknowledged by using sniffer dogs in military and civilian Inter-ratervariability k 0.436 service for detection of a variety of odours. Moreover, sniffer dogs have been employed in pre-clinical studies for cancer diagnosis [22,23]. In 2006, MCCULLOCH et al [14] reported a sensitivity and specificity of 99% for sniffer dogs to diagnose lung cancer from patients' breath samples.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Canine scent detection in the diagnosis of lung cancer: revisiting a puzzling phenomenon

Ehmann

Boedeker²,

Friedrich³

et al. 2011

European Respiratory Journal

180

144

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Patient prognosis in lung cancer largely depends on early diagnosis. The exhaled breath of patients may represent the ideal specimen for future lung cancer screening. However, the clinical applicability of current diagnostic sensor technologies based on signal pattern analysis remains incalculable due to their inability to identify a clear target. To test the robustness of the presence of a so far unknown volatile organic compound in the breath of patients with lung cancer, sniffer dogs were applied.Exhalation samples of 220 volunteers (healthy individuals, confirmed lung cancer or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)) were presented to sniffer dogs following a rigid scientific protocol. Patient history, drug administration and clinicopathological data were analysed to identify potential bias or confounders.Lung cancer was identified with an overall sensitivity of 71% and a specificity of 93%. Lung cancer detection was independent from COPD and the presence of tobacco smoke and food odours. Logistic regression identified two drugs as potential confounders.It must be assumed that a robust and specific volatile organic compound (or pattern) is present in the breath of patients with lung cancer. Additional research efforts are required to overcome the current technical limitations of electronic sensor technologies to engineer a clinically applicable screening tool.

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“…Breath seems to serve as a better sample for canine discrimination than urine that was also proposed as a potentially good source of endogenously produced volatile compounds. In a recent study, GORDON et al [42] could not train their dogs for proper discrimination of urine samples between patients with breast or prostate cancer from that of controls. According to a hypothesis, VOCs produced by tumours and detected by dogs are the products of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes [43].…”

Section: Canine Smellmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exhaled biomarkers in lung cancer

Horváth

Lázár

Gyulai

et al. 2009

European Respiratory Journal

237

206

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Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death. Results of therapeutic interventions are particularly discouraging when the disease is discovered in an advanced stage. Early diagnosis is limited by the fact that the disease usually develops asymptomatically and available screening methods do not fulfil the requirements for reliable discrimination between patients with lung cancer and subjects not suffering from the disease. Breath sampling is completely noninvasive and provides a potentially useful approach to screening lung cancer. Exhaled biomarkers contain both volatile and nonvolatile molecules. The profile of volatile organic compounds is different in patients with lung cancer than in control subjects. In exhaled breath condensate, the proteomic profile of breath from cancer patients differs from that of healthy smokers. We reviewed the scientific evidence demonstrating that a unique chemical signature can be detected in the breath of patients with lung cancer and that the exhaled breath biomarker profile could aid clinical decision making.KEYWORDS: Biomarker, electronic nose, exhaled breath, exhaled breath condensate, lung cancer, smell L ung cancer is the leading cause of global cancer death in both males and females. According to the most recent projection of global mortality, by 2030 it will emerge as the third and the fifth leading cause of death in highand middle-income countries, respectively [1,2]. Figures on disease outcome measures are very discouraging as even with the most advanced treatment strategies ,86% of lung cancer patients die within 5 yrs of diagnosis. With early detection and treatment, however, the 5-yr survival rate improves dramatically from 20% in patients with stage III lung cancer to 70% in patients with stage I disease [3]. Researchers, therefore, have sought out screening tests to detect lung cancer in the earliest stages and several promising new approaches have been proposed for this purpose, such as computer-assisted image analysis of chest radiographs, spiral computed tomography (CT) scanning, PCR-based assays of sputum and fluorescence bronchoscopy [4][5][6][7].Breath chemical tests have a broad spectrum of applications ranging from the US Food and Drug Administration-approved exhaled nitric oxide fraction (FeNO) measurement to monitor the effect of anti-inflammatory treatment in asthma, to volatile organic compound (VOC) determination and nonvolatile biomarker profiling in the cooled breath sample called exhaled breath condensate (EBC) [8][9][10][11]. Being completely noninvasive, sampling of the breath allows clinicians and researchers to assess different body functions in a flexible manner. Breath collection can be performed even in very severe patients and also repeated within short intervals. Therefore, breath testing is considered to be a potentially ideal candidate for screening purposes. Besides widely known constituents such as nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, inert gases and water vapour, exhaled breath also consists of thousands of volatile and nonv...

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The Use of Canines in the Detection of Human Cancers

Cited by 130 publications

References 22 publications

Human Ovarian Carcinomas Detected by Specific Odor

Human Ovarian Carcinomas Detected by Specific Odor

Canine scent detection in the diagnosis of lung cancer: revisiting a puzzling phenomenon

Exhaled biomarkers in lung cancer

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