Trained dog may sniff out symptoms

Dear Dr. Gott: My friend assures me that human bladder cancer can be detected by dogs! Is he totally crazy?

Dear Reader: Here’s the scoop. (Remember you read it in this column.) According to the British Medical Journal USA (November/December, 2004), researchers in the United Kingdom carried out a study, using six trained dogs of varying breeds to discriminate, by smelling, the urine from patients with bladder cancer from people without genito-urinary neoplasms.

Taken as a group, the dogs successfully identified the presence of cancer in 22 out of 54 occasions, a success rate of 41 percent. (Expected value by chance alone: 14 percent.)

The investigators quite properly suggested that there are intriguing possibilities for further research. In addition, the authors confirm that this novel study “found that dogs can be trained to distinguish human bladder cancer patients’ urine from other human urine samples.”

For those of you interested in dogs, as am I, other interesting details were included in the report:

– The training period lasted seven months.

– The human test subjects were both men and women (total 108 individuals).

– The dogs consisted of papillon, cocker spaniels and mongrels.

– In one case a cancer was not suspected, but all six dogs identified the patient as a positive case. Despite the fact the person had a normal urological assessment, once the dogs had identified a problem, more extensive testing confirmed the presence of a malignant kidney tumor.

In summary, your friend is on the cutting edge. This unique study, with its intriguing conclusions, should provide a “benchmark against which future studies can be compared.”

This research intrigues me because there are virtually no screening tests for bladder cancer, and if I can provide a urine sample for a dog’s scent-analysis – with a reasonable degree of success – I’ll go for it. Tumors do produce volatile organic compounds – for example, in breath and sweat – and if these substances can be identified in a comfortably, cheap and easy way, perhaps early cancer prevention could rely on man’s best friend, just with one or two sniffs.

So, the next time a dog seems unduly interested in your trousers or skirt, don’t dismiss this attention if the animal has had any training in detecting cancer. Something may be going on. You need to pay attention.

To give you related information, I am sending you a copy of my Health Report “Bladder and Urinary Tract Infections.” Other readers who would like a copy should send a long, self-addressed, stamped envelope and $2 to Newsletter, P.O. Box 167, Wickliffe, OH 44092. Be sure to mention the title.