Prostate cancer in urine to smell
In a French study was the first to show that dogs can sniff out prostate cancer in urine. This raises hopes for a better early detection of prostate cancer on the basis of odorants.The fact that some diseases can be identified by the smell, doctors know for a long time. For example, the metabolism in the context of diabetes (diabetes mellitus), and certain diseases of the kidneys or liver severely disrupted, the exhaled air of the affected smells very characteristic. The idea of dogs that have a significantly finer sense of smell than humans to use for the detection of diseases, is therefore only logical and not new.
Thus, for example, some service dogs to sniff out a derailment of diabetics blood sugar of their owners early and give a warning. Similarly, there are studies on the use of dogs in the diagnosis of malignant tumors such as lung, bladder and breast cancer (with varying success).In France, now researchers involved with the detection of prostate cancer:
Included in the study were 108 men who because of an increased PSA value or an abnormal digital rectal examination ( DRE were) further investigated. It was in all cases a (possibly new) DRU, following which the men levies urine samples. And then everyone is a standard undergone prostate biopsy (with 12 tissue samples), the basis of which you divided the men from prostate cancer affected (59, "positive" urine sample) or not affected (49, "negative" urine sample).
These urine samples were then used for the study: First, professional dog trainer formed a previously untrained belgian shepherd of 16 months. In the tests, the dog then had the choice of six samples, one of 33 positive and five of 33 negative, the coach did not know the arrangement.
The dog chose it from the first passage 30 of the 33 positive samples and 3 of the negative samples. This results in a calculated sensitivity (probability that patients are identified as sick) and specificity (probability that Healthy are recognized as healthy) of the test of each 91%. The three non-selected positive samples detected the dog in the second passage way, then right, and in the three men, whose urine had selected "false", a second biopsy was performed, which resulted in a case of prostate cancer.
These results, the authors showed for the first time that a properly trained dog between urine samples from patients with and without prostate cancer can distinguish with high accuracy. The lack of pre-school and the professional training of the dog gave an explanation for discrepancies in the results of other studies. Prostate therefore have a "signature scent", consisting of a substance or several substances, which was still unknown and needs to be analyzed.
The authors further led to a number of weaknesses in their study argue against general to use these research method in practice, which is also not intended otherwise. They rather saw it as the cause for further investigation of the metabolism of prostate cancer cells and odorants formed by them. The identification of the substances in this specially trained dog should also be used, could lead to a useful instrument for screening (the screening) on prostate cancer.The study concludes, therefore opening the door to a future diagnosis of prostate cancer by smell.
Post a Comment