Ovarian Cancer Sniffed Out By Dogs

Apparently cancer changes a persons body odor. It is such a small change that people can't smell it. But dogs can. Researchers are trying to isolate the chemicals changes that the dog smells in ovarian cancer patients in order to create an early cancer warning detection system. (because Ovarian cancer is so hard to detect and it literally has no symptoms until it's nearly too late). Doctors, veterinarian, and chemists are working together on the project. The dogs have a 90% accuracy rate. (that's MUCH better than my last Primary Care Physician!!!)

Medical News Today - Ovarian Cancer Sniffed Out By Dogs

A group of researchers collaborated to investigate using canine olfaction and chemical and nanotechnology analysis as a means of detecting early-stage ovarian cancer. ...

Volatile organic compounds (VOC) - or odorants, are altered in the early stages of ovarian cancer. The researchers say that previous studies have shown that trained detection dogs, alongside specific electronic devices, are able to detect minute quantities of odorants.

Patients from Penn Medicine, with and without ovarian cancer, have donated tissue and blood samples to the Working Dog Center to assist in their research.

Yahoo News

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania's Working Dog Center have started training three dogs to use their extraordinary sense of smell to sniff out the signature compound that indicates the presence of ovarian cancer.

The scientists theorize that if the dogs can isolate the chemical marker for the disease, they will then be able to direct scientists at the Monell Chemical Senses Center what to look for when developing an electronic sensor to find the same marker in women.

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