Dogs - Detecting Prostate Cancer??!!
By skysuccess
@skysuccess (8857)
Singapore
June 5, 2010 7:08pm CST
No mistake here.
Scientists found dogs can tell which men have the disease just by sniffing samples of their urine.
It is learned that dogs can do the job more accurately than the current existing techniques for detecting tumors, as they have a sense 100,000 times more powerful than a human's to enable them to pick up on a certain chemical responsible for the cancerous cells.
According to the reported article, the current blood test, which measures levels of a protein made by the prostate, is unreliable. Two in three men with raised levels of prostate-specific antigen protein (PSA) are found not to have any cancerous cells when they undergo a biopsy.
And one in five with prostate cancer have normal readings. This means fledgling cancers can be missed until they spread to other parts of the body and are much harder to treat.
Compared to a detection rate of 63 out of 66 where researchers at the Hospital Tenon in Paris used their 1 year trained Belgian Malinois shepherd dogs to tell the difference between urine from 33 men with prostate cancer and urine from a group that was cancer-free.
This is a remarkable discovery indeed and I am sure that this will just reinforce the notion dogs are mens' best friend, after all.
Read more:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1284167/How-dogs-used-detect-prostate-cancer.html
It is learned that dogs can do the job more accurately than the current existing techniques for detecting tumors, as they have a sense 100,000 times more powerful than a human's to enable them to pick up on a certain chemical responsible for the cancerous cells.
According to the reported article, the current blood test, which measures levels of a protein made by the prostate, is unreliable. Two in three men with raised levels of prostate-specific antigen protein (PSA) are found not to have any cancerous cells when they undergo a biopsy.
And one in five with prostate cancer have normal readings. This means fledgling cancers can be missed until they spread to other parts of the body and are much harder to treat.
Compared to a detection rate of 63 out of 66 where researchers at the Hospital Tenon in Paris used their 1 year trained Belgian Malinois shepherd dogs to tell the difference between urine from 33 men with prostate cancer and urine from a group that was cancer-free.
This is a remarkable discovery indeed and I am sure that this will just reinforce the notion dogs are mens' best friend, after all.
Read more:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1284167/How-dogs-used-detect-prostate-cancer.html2 people like this
6 responses
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
8 Jun 10
I'd never actually heard about the connection between dogs and prostate cancer, but I do know that there are medical service dogs that work for people with epilepsy and are able to determine based on their smell when they are going to have a seizure, so this really doesn't surprise me all that much at all. I hope that with this new found knowledge, they are able to use it for a positive reason so that there will be more dependability in testing. Thus, when in doubt about results, use a dog.
1 person likes this
@skysuccess (8857)
• Singapore
8 Jun 10
dorannmwin,
Believe me, this new is to me as well.
Consider this to be an amazing discovery and I hope that it will be officially confirmed, so that we can seek a more accurate and effective method of diagnosing this form of terminal illnesses.
Take care and have a nice day.
@knewfy (82)
• United States
8 Jun 10
After years of working with search dogs, one realizes that their noses are 100 per cent more effective than ay other form of detection. They can smell even th tiniest particle of the scent they have been trained to detect. They can smell 100 year olf bones buried below the ground for heaven's sakes! so this comes as no surprise to me.
1 person likes this
@advokatku (4033)
• Indonesia
6 Jun 10
really? how to ... what the dog sniffed the man's genitals? difficult to imagine
@skysuccess (8857)
• Singapore
6 Jun 10
Cutie18f,
In all fairness, did you read the article I had (painstakingly) provided an URL link?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1284167/How-dogs-used-detect-prostate-cancer.html
So, the answers are:
So how do they do that?
The dogs are given collected urine samples to smell.
Does the dog react when it smells the warning signs?
When the dogs identified a cancerous sample, by sitting or running to their trainer, they got a reward.
Does it howl?
Interestingly..... what do you think?
@Professor2010 (20156)
• India
6 Jun 10
This is really great information, dogs are so helpful and so faithful, earlier some body said they can goresee the heart attack of the owner, also protect persons that are sinking in water..
Thanks for sharing.
Welcome always. 
Cheers.
Prof
Cheers.
Prof
1 person likes this
@skysuccess (8857)
• Singapore
6 Jun 10
Professor2010,
You are welcome.
There's so much our old faithfuls can do and I hope that people will learn to treasure them. Protecting and loving men have been their basic instinct - I just see this as God sent.
Cheers to you too, Professor!
