The Los Angeles Times reports that French researchers reported yesterday at a meeting of the American Urological Association, in San Francisco, that dogs can be trained to sniff out the unique scent of chemicals released by prostate tumors.
If the research can be replicated, it could have significantly better reliability than standard PSA tests, because of fewer false positives. Out of 66 times, the trained dog in the trials detected correctly 63 times. There were three false positives, and no false negatives. By contrast, most positive PSA tests are false positives (about 70 percent), according to Virginia Commonwealth University.
The sniff test actually doesn’t involve contact with a human. Dogs sniff the urine sample, not a person. Researchers are also studying the possibility of dogs being able to detect lung, bladder, and breast cancers.
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