Dogs are able to sniff out lung cancer in human patients with a high degree of accuracy.
The dogs could identify volatile organic compounds that are linked to the presence of cancer on people’s breath, according to the German study. Because those with lung cancer often have no symptoms and current methods used to detect the disease are unreliable, the findings are significant, the study authors explained.
In conducting the study, researchers recruited people with lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or no health problems at all. The specially trained dogs successfully identified 71 out of 100 samples with lung cancer, as well as 372 out of 400 cancer-free samples.
The dogs were also able to distinguish between lung cancer and COPD as well as tobacco smoke. The researchers concluded there must be a reliable marker for lung cancer that is different from COPD and can be detected in the presence of tobacco smoke, food odors and drugs.
Man’s best friend earns his title again.
