;Resize=(1200,627)&impolicy=perceptual&quality=mediumHigh&hash=719acc98885729bbf68390e0043dfb109a144efd82574eb7e207beae95a70edb "Prostate cancer: Dogs sniff out disease in patients’ urine")
Early detection of prostate cancer is crucial to increasing the chances of successful treatment. There are several options available for this, such as a tactile examination or the PSA test. However, the benefits of such procedures must always be balanced against the disadvantage of possible overdiagnosis and treatment. An unusual option is early detection with the help of sniffer dogs. The dogs are specially trained to detect the urine of people who have prostate cancer. The animals recognize this through volatile organic compounds that are released in the urine in connection with the disease.
Sleuths for early cancer detection?
A meta-analysis examined how precisely the animals can be used for the early detection of prostate cancer. Five studies from various medical-scientific databases were identified for the analysis.
Meta-analysis of five studies
In the studies, the sniffer dogs demonstrated a high level of accuracy in correctly detecting prostate cancer using urine samples.
Die sensitivity was included 95 percent. It describes how well a procedure is suitable for actually identifying sick patients as such. The Specificity was included 92 percent. It indicates how well healthy patients can be correctly identified.
Sniffer dogs demonstrate high precision in early detection
Although the analysis shows that a high level of diagnostic accuracy can be achieved with the use of sniffer dogs, there are also some difficulties associated with the procedure. On the one hand, training the animals takes a lot of time. In addition, the animal’s state of mind can greatly influence the accuracy of the procedure. If the dog is stressed, tired or hungry, detecting the disease can become less precise. The use of an electronic sniffer could offer a promising alternative. Researchers have been working on the concept for a long time, using the dog’s nose as a model. Odor sensors can be used to analyze volatile organic compounds in urine samples as well as their microbial composition. The use of artificial intelligence further increases the accuracy of such devices. Prototypes of such devices already exist.
Electronic sniffing could be an alternative in the future
The authors concluded that the meta-analysis confirms the diagnostic accuracy of detection dogs for the early detection of prostate cancer. However, advances in research into the crucial profiles of volatile organic compounds should be used to develop more reliable, more widely applicable alternatives such as electronic detection.
How to prevent cancer
Even better than fighting cancer is preventing it. Cancer and prevention researchers regularly emphasize this. They have summarized the following measures:
Avoid being overweight
Move every day
Eating healthy
Do not smoke
Drink as little alcohol as possible
Avoid carcinogenic substances
Protect from UV radiation
Vaccinate against cancer (hepatitis B; HPV)
Use offers for early cancer detection