title: The use of canines in the detection of human cancers.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether canines could be trained to identify patients with cancer by sniffing the urine obtained from a patient with breast or prostate cancer from among samples obtained from healthy volunteers.
  
  
  METHODS
  Dogs of different breeds were trained by their owners to detect the urine sample from a patient with cancer from among 6 other age- and sex-matched healthy volunteers. After the training was completed, using new samples, 2 test runs were used for each patient with breast cancer and three runs for the patients with prostate cancer against the same matched samples. The configuration of the samples was different for each run. A total of 18 and 33 runs were carried out, respectively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  For each cohort, specificity and sensitivity were measured. In the breast cancer tests, of 6 dogs, only 2 performed better than chance in specificity and none were more sensitive than chance. For the prostate sample testing, 4 dogs were used. Two performed significantly better than chance in specificity and none in sensitivity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although this study did not produce the outcomes desired, the literature supports a potential to use canines for human cancer detection. Better management of urine samples and a more stringent training protocol during our study may have provided new evidence as to the feasibility of using canines for cancer detection. A comparison of the 3 dog cancer scenting studies is also presented.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Scripps Clinic, La Jolla, CA 92130, USA. Gordon.Robert@ScrippsHealth.org
authors.forename: Robert T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Gordon
authors.forename: Carole Beck
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Schatz
authors.forename: Lawrence J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Myers
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kosty
authors.forename: Constance
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gonczy
authors.forename: Joan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kroener
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tran
authors.forename: Pamela
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kurtzhals
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Heath
authors.forename: James A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Koziol
authors.forename: Nan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Arthur
authors.forename: Madeline
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gabriel
authors.forename: Judy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hemping
authors.forename: Gordon
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hemping
authors.forename: Sally
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nesbitt
authors.forename: Lydia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tucker-Clark
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zaayer
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000652:urine*; D004285:Dogs / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D001841:Human-Animal Bond; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009812:Odorants; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000652:urine*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012684:Sensory Thresholds; D012903:Smell