smells and cancer
dog sniffing at patch of skin disease turned out to be cancer reported in Lancet in 1989
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140673689922575?showall%3Dtrue%26via%3Dihub
followed by anecdotes
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(01)06065-2/fulltext
2004 study in BMJ – ‘proof of concept’
dogs using the smell of urine to detect bladder cancer
6 dogs, detected 22 out of 54 people with bladder cancer
2006 american study
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1534735405285096
lung cancer study germany 2011
http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/early/2011/08/05/09031936.00051711?sid=b4c367ac-6264-4d94-8b46-2b1505bb3fcf
small study melanoma 7 patients
http://www.appliedanimalbehaviour.com/article/S0168-1591%2804%2900111-X/abstract
colorectal cancer sensitivity .91, specificity .99
http://gut.bmj.com/content/early/2011/01/17/gut.2010.218305
but also hype
Medical Detection Dogs receives green light for first canine prostate cancer trial in UK
Mr Steele commented: “My colleagues and I have been so impressed by the initial investigations by Medical Detection Dogs into prostate cancer screening using dogs.
“The current PSA and Free-to-Total tests are the best we have right now, but they leave a great deal of room for improvement. We need a testing method that is quick, preferably non-invasive and most importantly reliable to encourage men to come and be tested.
“In their training trials, Medical Detection Dogs have achieved 93 per cent reliability and this has been supported by the recent study by Italian scientists who have recorded 98 per cent reliability.
“If they can prove in this study that dogs are reliable at detecting cancer then we will have the evidence we need to offer sample screening by dogs as an optional test in our cancer clinic.
“We should not miss this opportunity to save thousands of lives.”
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1558787810000031
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1534735405285096
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