Canine cancer detection is an approach to cancer screening that relies upon the olfactory ability of dogs to detect very low concentrations of the alkanes and aromatic compounds generated by tumors. When normal cells are damaged beyond repair, they are eliminated by apoptosis. ... Olfaction, the sense of odor (smell), is the detection of chemicals dissolved in air (or, by animals that breathe water, in water). ... The term Dogs, when used by itself can refer to: The plural of dog Dogs, a song by Pink Floyd This is a disambiguation page — a list of articles associated with the same title. ... An alkane in organic chemistry is a type of hydrocarbon in which the molecule has the maximum possible number of hydrogen atoms and so has no double bonds (they are saturated). ... The term aromatic compound may also refer to: any organic compound possessing a strong olfactory aroma aromatic hydrocarbons (originally named as a subset of the above; however, aromatic hydrocarbons do not necessarily possess any smell whatsoever) ... Tumor (American English) or tumour (British English) originally means swelling, and is sometimes still used with that meaning. ...

Although the first suggestion of this approach in a medical journal dates back to 1989, there was little further investigation for the next decade. However, two studies (one published in 2004 and one in 2006) had promising results, with the 2006 report claiming a 99 percent accuracy in detecting lung cancer, although both studies were preliminary and involved small numbers of patients. The incidence of lung cancer is highly correlated with smoking. ...

There are two proposed benefits, assuming that futher studies corroborate the initial results. Some researchers believe that dogs will become integrated directly into patient care, akin to their use in detecting bombs, drugs, and missing people. Others recommend that the skill of dogs in detecting cancer would be more appropriately confined to labs, where gas chromatographs could be used to isolate which specific compounds the dogs identified. Gas-liquid chromatography (GLC), or simply gas chromatography (GC) is a type of chromatography in which the mobile phase is a carrier gas, usually an inert gas such as helium or nitrogen, and the stationary phase is a microscopic layer of liquid on an inert solid support. ...

See also

• Scent hound

Like most scent hounds, the Basset Hound has long ears, large nasal passages, and a sturdy body for endurance. ...

External links

2004 study

• Willis CM, Church SM, Guest CM, Cook WA, McCarthy N, Bransbury AJ, Church MR, Church JC. "Olfactory detection of human bladder cancer by dogs: proof of principle study." BMJ. 2004 Sep 25;329(7468):712. PMID 15388612 Article
• USA Today - "Study shows dogs able to smell cancer"
• CBS News - "Dogs Can Smell Cancer"

The British Medical Journal (BMJ) is a medical journal published weekly in the United Kingdom by the British Medical Association (BMA). ...

2006 study

• NYTimes - "Dogs Excel on Smell Test to Find Cancer"
• Diagnostic Accuracy of Canine Scent Detection in Early- and Late-Stage Lung and Breast Cancers (PDF)

other

• Williams H, Pembroke A. "Sniffer dogs in the melanoma clinic?" Lancet. 1989 Apr 1;1(8640):734. PMID 2564551
• Church J, Williams H. "Another sniffer dog for the clinic?" Lancet. 2001 Sep 15;358(9285):930. No abstract available. PMID 11575380