http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/8...r-retriever-sniffs-out-bowel-cancer-patients/
Man’s best friend is an even better friend than we thought. Studies suggest that dogs can distinguish about ten different cancers by smell, from each other as well as from controls. Including major killers like lung, breast, prostate and ovarian cancers. If it seems too good to be true, keep in mind that cancer cells are by definition very different metabolically from normal cells, and it’s not surprising that they may exude certain substances specific to them. Dogs make good detectors because they have an extremely acute sense of smell, down to parts per billion. The ultimate goal, of course, would be to use a sensitive breathalyzer or other chemical assay to diagnose.
There is one inspiring story of an elderly woman whose dog began jumping all over her, sniffing at a mole on her body. It happened so often that she finally asked a doctor about it. It turned out to be melanoma.
Man’s best friend is an even better friend than we thought. Studies suggest that dogs can distinguish about ten different cancers by smell, from each other as well as from controls. Including major killers like lung, breast, prostate and ovarian cancers. If it seems too good to be true, keep in mind that cancer cells are by definition very different metabolically from normal cells, and it’s not surprising that they may exude certain substances specific to them. Dogs make good detectors because they have an extremely acute sense of smell, down to parts per billion. The ultimate goal, of course, would be to use a sensitive breathalyzer or other chemical assay to diagnose.
There is one inspiring story of an elderly woman whose dog began jumping all over her, sniffing at a mole on her body. It happened so often that she finally asked a doctor about it. It turned out to be melanoma.
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