Labradors as accurate as colonoscopy in detecting cancer

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This is the nose that knows - a black labrador has been trained to sniff out bowel cancer in Japan, and with the same detection accuracy as a colonoscopy(Source: Juan Pablo Oitana/Stock.xchng)

Japanese researchers are reporting a ‘lab’ breakthrough: a retriever that can detect bowel cancer in breath and stool samples as accurately as hi-tech diagnostic tools.

The findings, presented today in the Gut , a British Medical Journal publication, support hopes for an ‘electronic nose’ that could one day sniff a tumour at its earliest stages, the researchers say.

The team, led by Hideto Sonoda at Kyushu University in Fukuoka, Japan, used a specially-trained female black labrador to carry out 74 “sniff tests” over a period of several months.

Each of the tests comprised five breath or stool samples, only one of which was cancerous.

The samples came from 48 people with confirmed bowel cancer at various stages of the disease and 258 volunteers with no bowel cancer or who had had cancer in the past.

Incredibly high accuracy

They complicated the task for the eight-year-old canine detective by adding a few challenges to the samples, including samples from smokers or from subjects with other types of gut problems, which might have masked or interfered with other smells, but these did not interfere with the dog’s olfactory accuracy.

Around half of the non-cancer samples came from people with bowel polyps, which are benign but are also a possible precursor of bowel cancer.

Six per cent of the breath samples, and 10 per cent of the stool samples, came from people with other gut problems, such as inflammatory bowel disease, ulcers, diverticulitis, and appendicitis.

In the study, the retriever performed as well as a colonoscopy, a technique in which a fibre-optic tube with a camera on the end is inserted into the rectum to look for suspect areas of the intestine.

It correctly spotted which samples were cancerous and which were not in 33 out of 36 breath tests, equal to 95 per cent accuracy, and in 37 out of 38 stool tests (98 per cent accuracy).

It performed especially well among people with early stage disease.

The researchers say that this study shows that cancer cells give off specific discernible odours as they circulate through the body.

Previous research has also found that dogs can sniff out bladder, lung, ovarian and breast cancer.

The authors concede that using dogs as a screening tool is likely to be impractical and expensive, but that a sensor could be developed to detect specific compounds that are linked to cancer, in faecal material or the air.

Early detection is the ‘holy grail’ in bowel cancer fight

Dr Trevor Lockett, theme leader on colorectal cancer and gut health in the CSIRO Preventative Health National Research Flagship, said he thinks the Japanese team’s findings are fascinating.

“Most striking is the ability of the dogs to detect bowel cancer at its earliest stages,” he says.

He says that most current non-invasive tests for bowel cancer are far better at finding later stage disease than early stage.

“Detection of early stage cancers is the real holy grail because surgery can cure up to 90 per cent of patients with early stage disease,” he says.

“Cure rates decrease dramatically as the cancers become more advanced.”

Lockett says it may not be a single chemical that the dogs are responding to, but a combination of chemicals present in specific proportions. He says the real test will be whether we can develop chemical detection systems sophisticated enough to detect the key volatile components.

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Professor Mike

Professor Mike is a left-leaning, dog loving, political junkie. He has written dozens of articles for Substack, Medium, Simily, and Tribel. Professor Mike has been published at Smerconish.com, among others. He is a strong proponent of the environment, and a passionate protector of animals. In addition he is a fierce anti-Trumper. Take a moment and share his work.
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Anonymous
12 years ago

Hello Michael,
Thanks for your thoughts, In a blow to overanxious men of all heights, widths and personality types, researchers conclude that Virtual Colonoscopy (VC) is as effective as the more conventional procedure. The study was directed by Dr. Perry Pickhardt, of the University of Wisconsin Medical School in Madison, and evaluated over 1,100 adults.
Nice One!
One Person CAN Make A Difference!

Anonymous
12 years ago

Hello Michael,
Thanks for the info, For every living thing on earth the atmosphere must comprise of 78% Nitrogen, 21% Oxygen, 0.9% Argon and 0.04% Carbon Dioxide. As it is delicately balanced, any sort of disturbance in the atmospheric gas proportions may lead to the hazardous situation for all. The major culprit is the ever increasing industrialization which is inevitable, even when it significantly affects the atmosphere by emitting dangerous gases. Industrial areas are more likely to produce harmful gases, like methane, ammonia, chlorine, hydrogen sulfide, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide etc. Sometimes gases are apparent due to their pungent smell, whereas at times they are odorless that makes them hard to detect. So, here comes the role of gas detection. By performing gas detection, the area’s atmosphere is monitored to determine the danger level. Thereafter, proper steps are taken to minimize the effects of gases.
Catch you again soon!
One Person CAN Make A Difference!

13 years ago

As accurate, and surely far more pleasant! A promising story “indeed.”

13 years ago

I for one would be far more agreeable to having the familiar feel of a labrador’s nose in my ass crack than have a camera shoved up my butt!

Jess
Reply to  Mother Hen
13 years ago

I was going to say the same thing about butt sniffing dogs. Now if we would get them trained on cervical cancer also, that would be great, instead of the pap smear and pelvic exam.

Michael John Scott
Reply to  Jess
13 years ago

I have no doubt that day is coming Jess.

Michael John Scott
Reply to  Mother Hen
13 years ago

LOL! LOL! I knew I could count on you MH 🙂 🙂 My Chocolate Lab will never look the same to me 🙂

13 years ago

The dog-sniffing method is a LOT easier than getting a colonoscopy! Animals have amazing abilities we’re just finding out about. Hope we can keep as many species as possible on our planet…

Michael John Scott
Reply to  mbarnato
13 years ago

I suspect we have only scratched the surface when it comes to the wonderful things our creatures can do Maureen.

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