Frankie, a German Shepherd mix, was trained by researchers to sniff out thyroid cancer in urine samples. With an accuracy rate of 88 percent, can dogs like him someday replace those expensive tests to rule out the disease?
Current procedures used to detect thyroid cancer include laryngoscope, CT scan, ultrasound and blood tests, but most of them have uncertain results. Patients also had to endure needle tests to extract cells from their thyroid.
"Current diagnostic procedures for thyroid cancer often yield uncertain results, leading to recurrent medical procedures and a large number of thyroid surgeries performed unnecessarily," Donald Bodenner, study senior author and chief of endocrine oncology at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) in Little Rock, said in a news release.
Researchers at the University of Arkansas trained Frankie to determine if canines who are known for their highly sensitive sense of smell can be used to spot the early signs of thyroid cancer in urine samples. They repeatedly exposed the dog to the tissue samples of people diagnosed with thyroid cancer, then trained him to lie down after smelling thyroid cancer in a urine sample.
After the training, the researchers presented Frankie 34 urine samples of undiagnosed patients. The dog identified cancer on 30 of 34 samples. To check for accuracy, the researchers submitted the patients for actual tests and it turned out that Frankie was right 88 percent of the time.
The researchers admitted that further study is needed to determine if dog sniffers can be used to diagnose patients. They also like to know what exactly the dog is smelling from the urine samples.
"Scent-trained canines could be used by physicians to detect the presence of thyroid cancer at an early stage and to avoid surgery when unwarranted," Bodenner commented.
Other doctors welcomed the idea of canine physicians so that patients will have a less invasive option. They are hoping that the researchers will pursue their findings.
"A less invasive but effective method is needed to definitively diagnose thyroid cancer, so that patients can avoid unnecessary surgical procedures," Dr. Minisha Sood, an endocrinologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, told HealthDay News. She wasn't part of the study.
The study was presented on March 6 at ENDO 2015 in San Diego.
