Dog is perfectly capable to detect lung cancer

New experiments confirm that dogs are very well able to reliably detect lung cancer.

That dogs can detect cancer is nothing new. Scientists experimenting with plentiful and earlier studies showed that all dogs can smell more if someone has cancer. But breast and skin cancer can be determined by the dog. Earlier studies showed that even dogs could smell cancer. But the studies were performed accompanied, were often small and called for more research.

Experiment
It has now come. Scientists went to work with four dogs: two German shepherds, an Australian shepherd and a Labrador. More than 200 people were asked to blow into a tube that holds odors. Part of the subjects were healthy. However, there were subjects who had lung cancer. And there was a group of people with COPD.


Results
The dogs smoke and sat down on the tubes when they thought someone had cancer. In 71 percent of the cases the animals is correct. Interestingly enough let the animals do not be distracted by the smell of COPD or the smell that people who smoked in the left tube.

"Our results confirm a stable indicator of lung cancer," says researcher Thorsten Walles. Dogs receive in the future a central role in the hospital? Probably not. The researchers now want to find out exactly what the dogs smell and eventually develop an electronic nose to the work of the dog takes over and even more reliable. There is already working on some electrical nose, but there is certainly room for improvement. By substances that eventually all dogs to conclude that someone has cancer, to detect the electronic nose can replace the dog. Experiments in which dogs to detect cancer, will also take place in good time.