Dogs sniff lung cancer

Trained dogs can diagnose lung cancer with sniffs

18/08/2011

It has been known for some time that dogs with their fine nose can sniff various types of cancer. Now, physicians at the Schillerhöhe Clinic in Gerlingen (Ludwigsburg district) have demonstrated that the four-legged friends can also reliably diagnose lung cancer (bronchial carcinoma).

The specially trained dogs have detected the lung cancer in more than 70 percent of the cases in the current studies, reports study author Thorsten Walles in the current issue of the journal „European Respiratory Journal“. The dogs have probably perceived in the breath of lung cancer patients other chemicals than in healthy subjects, Walles continued. According to the expert, these differences were already recognizable for the four-legged friends at a very early stage of the disease. Should it be possible to identify the chemical substances that help the dogs with the diagnosis, the development of artificial sensors for the early detection of lung cancer would be conceivable, emphasize the scientists of the clinic Schillerhöhe.

Dogs recognize lung cancer in 71 percent of the cases
In the study, Thorsten Walles and colleagues had 100 breath samples from lung cancer patients and 400 breath samples from healthy study participants diagnosed by specially trained dogs. In 71 of the 100 lung cancer breath samples, the four-legged friends recognized the lung cancer, in 372 of the 400 breath samples of the healthy study participants, the dogs correctly found that there was no lung cancer. The dogs recognized the lung cancer, regardless of whether the patients were smokers or suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), reports Thorsten Walles. According to the expert, there are „In the breath of lung cancer patients, chemicals other than normal breath and the fine sense of smell of dogs can detect this difference at an early stage of the disease.“ The results of the study - irrespective of the evidence of the possibility of diagnosing lung cancer with the help of dogs - are of particular importance to science, as there are no possibilities for the early detection of bronchial carcinomas, the European Lung Foundation said. The hit rate of the dogs offered with a little more than 70 percent so far not the medically necessary safety, but the four-legged friends were trained for the current study only eleven weeks, so that with a better education probably also increase the reliability of diagnosis, said Walles.

Cancer diagnosis with the help of trained dogs no novelty
Previous studies have shown that dogs can sniff various cancers, such as skin, breast and colon cancers, from the patient's breath, urine or stool. Now the German researchers have confirmed this for the first time for lung cancer. But a use of the four-legged friends in medical practice will presumably still remain the exception in the future. Although dogs are significantly faster than previous diagnostic procedures, their capacities are limited. A dog can not be used for the whole day for diagnosis, as this is extremely stressful for the four-legged friends and with time the diagnostic reliability would decrease significantly. An electronic sensor could, however, take over the work of the dogs, should it be possible to identify the chemical substances that are perceived by the fine dog's nose, according to the statement of the physicians of the clinic Schillerhöhe. This would allow the early detection of lung cancer and the chances of survival of those affected would increase significantly, Walles and colleagues report. The sooner the disease is recognized, the higher the chances of success of the therapy. Since lung cancer causes the world's most deaths of all cancers to date, physicians have been looking for years for ways of efficient treatment and early detection. According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) alone, around 50,000 people in Germany suffer from bronchial carcinoma every year, and 40,000 people die every year in Germany as a result of lung cancer. The chances of survival after five years are only about five percent in lung cancer patients. (Fp)

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