Dogs can not only detect cancerous cells in people, but they can differentiate the smell of breast cancer cells from non-cancerous cells in cell cultures.
An internist and instructor at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev has conducted research proving that specially trained dogs can smell the difference.
The concept of using the sniffing ability of dogs to detect cancerous cells first emerged a decade ago in an article in a medical journal, about a woman who discovered she had melanoma when her dog repeatedly barked at her tumor. Other individuals have since reported similar experiences.
One such dog was a standard poodle who worked as a therapy dog at Pine Street Chinese Benevolent Association in San Anselmo, trained to detect cancer by smelling tubes of breath samples taken from people with early stage breast or lung cancer.
At Ben-Gurion, two dogs were taught to smell breast cancer cell cultures and tested for their ability to recognize lung cancer and melanoma. They scored 100 percent in all cases.
“Our research proves that dogs can smell cancer cells in vitro, and that different types of cancer share the same smell print,” said Dr. Uri Yoel, a specialist in internal medicine and professor at BGU’s Faculty of Health Sciences.