The novelty of this study was to investigate the feasibility and efficacy of using the trained dog to detect and distinguish urine samples of breast cancer patients from a control group comprised of a variety of other malignancies and healthy volunteers. Using our established training method, the dog could be trained to detect breast cancer from urine samples, and 100% sensitivity and specificity rates could be achieved in the double-blind test series. Up to now, efficacy of urine samples has not been well clarified. Using urine samples is useful because of its simplicity and non-invasiveness. Some trained dogs were reported to discriminate between the urine of patients with urinary tract and prostate cancers from those of controls [13, 21], but this is the first study indicating the efficacy and accuracy of a dog trained to detect breast cancer from urine samples.
Originally, in 1989, the hypothesis that dog can smell a cancer odor was raised during the consultation with a woman who claimed to have sought medical help as a direct result of her dog’s inordinate interest in a skin lesion, which subsequently proved to be a malignant melanoma [29]. A similar case of patient-dog interactions leading to cancer diagnoses was subsequently reported, suggesting the possibility of the existence of a cancer specific odor [30]. Initially, these “anecdotal” events were not supported by evidence. However, the following studies have demonstrated canine cancer detection for cancer screening is promising, feasible, and safe (Table 3) [11–28].
McCulloch et al. reported that trained dogs could successfully detect breast cancers using exhaled breath samples [14]. Breath samples from 31 breast cancer patients and healthy control patients were used, and sensitivity and specificity were 0.88 and 0.98, respectively, across all stages. Sonoda et al. further investigated the utility of canine cancer detection in CRC using breath and watery stool [26]. Sensitivity and specificity in comparison with diagnosis by colonoscopy were 0.91 to 0.97, and 0.99, respectively. In order to determine whether a specific cancer odor does exist, or a particular natural scent disappears due to the cancer, a mixture of watery stool of CRC cancer patients and controls was produced, and the sample could be correctly identified by the dog. From this, it was surmised that chemical compounds from cancer could be circulating throughout the body. Next, focus was placed on whether these odors were cancer-common or cancer-specific. In several subsequent series, when one type of cancer sample was used as the standard scent, the dog was able to differentiate between other types of cancers [26, 31]. Seo et al. also reported that metabolic wastes of both breast and CRC in vitro have a common specific odor [19]. On the other hand, several types of cancers which were included as controls could be successfully identified as the targeted cancer by the sniffer dog, which is consistent with the results of this study [24]. These studies suggested that both of cancer-common scents and cancer-specific scents exist. Consequently, non-breast malignancies as well as healthy volunteers were included in the control group. The dog in this test successfully differentiated breast cancer from non-breast malignancies and healthy controls, and this concurs with previous studies [24].
The test data at this time showed a higher sensitivity and specificity compared to other previous reports. One possible reason is the environmental settings of the test-run, which allowed the dog to respond without stress. Tests were not carried out under the stressful conditions for the dog. Detection accuracy may be influenced by the condition of the dog, and therefore performance should be systematically monitored [32]. In addition, storage of the sample until testing may be pivotal in maximizing detection rate. While the effect of storage duration or method on detection accuracy was not assessed in this study, standardization of such methodology, in order to utilize this approach for a mass screening, should be considered [20].
Evidence has shown that human body emits a wide array of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), both odorous and non-odorous, depending on individual background [33]. These VOCs are emitted throughout the body, including breath, blood and urine [34, 35]. According to analysis of VOCs, different volatile patterns have been correlated with a variety of diseases including cancers [14, 33, 36, 37], which dogs can be trained to detect. Consequently, analysis of cancer specific VOCs is considered feasible. Some studies have attempted to demonstrate cancer specific VOCs by utilizing gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GCMS) [38]. The potential of VOCs in urine, breath and blood samples to be biomarkers for an array of diseases could be demonstrated [35, 39]. However, VOCs are affected by physiological factors such as dietary and smoking habits, infections, and benign diseases [40], which GCMS cannot detect all or even nearly all chemicals present [14], nor clarify the exact chemical compounds and/or their combinations. Combining this dog-based study with instrument-based research would be mutually beneficial for further analysis [41].
This study has limitations. Our cancer detection system relies on one trained dog. Expanding this to multiple training centers with expert trainers, multiple dogs, and over several years is desired. An effective training protocol is essential for good performance [20]. Even though dogs can be subject to the same training manner by the same trainer, inter-dog difference or poor performance due to stress have been pointed out in similar studies [10, 17].