Hounds Astound: Dogs Detect Prostate Cancer Medscape (Mulcahy) reports on data presented at American Urologic Association from Orlando, Florida — With an accuracy rate of nearly 100%, 2 specially trained dogs were able to detect prostate cancer with their olfactory system — by sniffing urine samples, according to a new study that is the largest of its kind. Italian researchers tested each dogs ability to sniff out prostate cancer in urine samples from 362 men with prostate cancer and 540 men with either non-neoplastic prostate disease or nonprostatic tumors. The dogs, German Shepherds named Liu and Zoey, had their day, time and again. Liu had an accuracy rate of 99.0%, with a sensitivity of 100.0% and specificity of 97.8%. Zoey had an accuracy rate of 97.0%, with a sensitivity of 98.6% and specificity of 95.9%. This is a real clinical opportunity, said lead researcher Gianluigi Taverna, MD, chief of the prostatic disease unit at Humanitas Research Hospital in Milan, about the results. The opportunity includes the possibility that specially trained dogs could provide a noninvasive method of cancer detection. The dogs were equally capable of detecting low-risk and more advanced prostate cancers. The dog has a quality, not quantity, response, said Dr. Taverna. The frozen urine samples used in the study were obtained from local Milan hospitals and then thawed for the testing. The smell tests occurred in a small room with a video recorder mounted on one wall. A dog handler walked a single dog in a circle around a series of mesh covered bowls. The dog went around the full circle once, and then on the second go-round, stopped at specific bowls if they contained urine with prostate cancer odors. The dogs are not any old mutts, said Dr. Taverna. They are very well-trained dogs who are also experts at detecting explosives.
Posted on: Thu, 05 Jun 2014 19:07:20 +0000