DOGS AGAINST CANCER: cancer's signature scent

The British Medical Journal published a ground-breaking research reporting how dogs have been trained to detect bladder cancer by its smell in urine, bringing together dogs’ exceptional sense of smell, with the theory that cancer produces chemicals with distinctive odours. (on September 24th, 2004 )

Six dogs, none of which had any prior experience in scent discrimination, were trained over seven months to distinguish between urine samples from bladder cancer patients and those from healthy people and individuals with non-cancerous diseases. For the final tests, each dog was offered a set of seven urine samples, and their task was to determine which of them was from a patient with bladder cancer. All of the samples used in the tests were completely new and unfamiliar to the dogs.

The dogs, comprising three spaniels, one papillon, one Labrador and one mongrel, correctly selected the bladder cancer urine on 22 out of 54 occasions - an average success rate of 41% compared to the 14% which would have been expected if the dogs had randomly selected a sample each time. This was statistically significant.

The research was undertaken by a unique partnership of medical scientists, including a statistician, and dog trainers. An orthopaedic surgeon from Buckinghamshire, Mr John Church, brought together colleagues from the Department of Dermatology, Buckinghamshire Hospitals NHS Trust (funded by the Erasmus Wilson Dermatological Research Fund) to develop and supervise the scientific protocol for the research, and Hearing Dogs for Deaf People (based near Princes Risborough) for the purpose of training the dogs for the trial.

“We were flattered to be asked to assist in this study on the basis of our reputation in the field of training dogs,” Claire Guest, Operations Director at Hearing Dogs said, “although we have been very careful not to let this project affect our normal work which involves training dogs for deaf people. The four of us who trained these cancer detection dogs did so using our own pet dogs, in our own homes, in our own spare time.”

John Church is not surprised at the results of the study. “I am a passionate believer that animals have a huge amount to teach us, and I have heard many stories of people who have been alerted to the presence of cancer in their bodies by their pet dogs. I was delighted to find that the two charities were open-minded enough to participate in this study, so that we could really examine this phenomenon scientifically.”

Back row: And Cook, Claire Guest, Martin Church.
Front row: Carolyn Willis, John Church, Susannah Church

Director of Academic Research for the Dept of Dermatology at Amersham Hospital, Dr Carolyn Willis – a key member of the project team – is delighted with the results of the trial. “The success of the project owes a great deal to the teamwork and dedication displayed by all involved, including the dogs. As we were unable to give the dogs a ‘pure’ sample of bladder cancer, it is all the more remarkable that they learned to recognise an odour signature for bladder cancer from amongst the hundreds present in urine. This study demonstrated conclusively that the dogs were not simply responding to smells associated with the presence of blood, inflammation or infection. In fact, in one case during training the dogs persistently indicated at a certain patient’s sample, which had initially been assessed as non-cancerous. The hospital doctors were particularly impressed when further investigations, which were brought forward, showed the presence of bladder-type cancer in one of that patient’s kidneys. ”

Inspired by their success in this first pilot study, the group are already making plans for conducting further research, with the aim of pushing back the boundaries of knowledge in this crucial area. To this end, two new young dogs, Flo and Oak, have already commenced training alongside their older four-footed friends. Carolyn explains, “We hope to improve the detection of bladder cancer, but also extend the work to include other cancers, particularly skin cancer.”

Any future research will, of course, be dependent on funding, and anyone wishing to make a donation to help fund more detailed research, should make cheques payable to the Erasmus Wilson Dermatological Research Fund, and post to the following address:- Dr Carolyn Willis, Department of Dermatology, Amersham Hospital, Whielden Street, Amersham, Bucks HP7 0JD. Alternatively, you can find details of how to donate on their website: www.erasmuswilson.co.uk.

"Perhaps it is not surprising that a dog can pick up a change in its owner," Dr. Church says. "After all, it is known that pets and their owners share a very close bond.At the start of this project, we couldn't have been sure that a dog could be trained to detect cancer in a urine sample from someone it had never laid eyes on. So the results are far beyond our expectations." He hopes the research could help scientists identify the cocktail of chemicals the dogs are smelling, which may enable a medical device to be designed which is capable of detecting cancer's signature scent.

EDITORS’ NOTES Jenny Moir
BACKGROUND TO THE PROJECT

This new project - the training of dogs to detect cancer on the basis of its smell - was initiated by Mr John Church some two years ago. John, a retired orthopaedic surgeon living in Buckinghamshire, has had a long-standing interest in the subject, arising from the publication of an anecdotal story in the Lancet in 1989. This gave an account of a woman, whose pet dog showed a persistent interest in a mole, prompting her to seek medical advice. When the mole was removed, it was found to be skin cancer. Over the intervening years, John became aware of other similar anecdotal stories, one of which he published in the Lancet in 2001.

In 1978 Gillian Lacey, an employee of Hearing Dogs for Deaf People, discovered a mole on her leg, in which her dog showed a persistent interest, leading her to seek the advice of her GP. The mole turned out to be a malignant melanoma. Claire Guest, one of the project’s dog trainers, started working at Hearing Dogs a few years later, and Gillian asked her about the possibility of training dogs specifically to detect cancer. When John Church then approached Hearing Dogs, seeking dog trainers who could be involved in the formal training of sniffer dogs for cancer, Claire Guest and Andy Cook were immediately interested. Concurrently John approached the Department of Dermatology, Bucks Hospitals NHS Trust, to develop and supervise the scientific protocol for the research.

Dr Carolyn Willis (Director of Academic Research, Bucks Hospitals NHS Trust) joined John, Dr Susannah Church, Dr Martin Church, and dog trainers, Claire Guest and Andy Cook from Hearing Dogs, to form a multi-disciplinary team. Together with medical statistician, Dr Noel McCarthy, they designed and carried out the first scientifically robust study, which proved that dogs can be successfully trained to detect cancer. The results of the study, which used bladder cancer as an experimental model, have just been published in the BMJ.

No funds from either the NHS or Hearing Dogs for Deaf People were used to finance this study.

ABOUT THE CHURCH FAMILY

John has been a lecturer at the University Medical Schools of East Africa in 1963 before returning to the UK to take up the post of Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon at Wycombe Hospital. Following his retirement in 1991, John became a prime mover in exploring ways in which animals can play a part in human medicine, and together with other colleagues, researched the potential benefits of using specially prepared maggots in chronic wound care.

Two other members of John’s family also played an active part in the cancer dog study. His daughter, Susannah, and son, Martin – both doctors – collected samples from patients at all three hospitals within the Bucks Hospitals NHS Trust (Amersham, Wycombe and Stoke Mandeville), and liaised closely with Carolyn Willis, Andy Cook and Claire Guest over the design of the study. The Church family contributed to the project from their own private funds.

ABOUT THE ERASMUS WILSON DERMATOLOGICAL RESEARCH FUND and BUCKS HOSPITAL NHS TRUST

Named after the 19th century surgeon widely regarded as the father of dermatology, the Erasmus Wilson Dermatological Research Fund (EWDRF) was founded in 1965 by consultant dermatologist, Dr Darrell Wilkinson. EWDRF is a registered charity committed to the support of skin research and education. Although based within, and working closely with, the Dermatology Department at Amersham Hospital, they are independent of the NHS and entirely self-supporting - raising funds through a combination of research grants awarded by public bodies and charities, and clinical trials carried out in collaboration with industry.

DOGS JOIN THE FIGHT AGAINST CANCER

Renowned as a centre of clinical excellence, Buckinghamshire Hospital NHS Trust’s Dermatology Department is a previous winner of Hospital Doctor of the Year award and is supportive of novel research in partnership with the EWDRF and other funders. Dr Anthea Bransbury, Associate Specialist in Dermatology, played an important role during the early planning stages on the study. Dr Carolyn Willis is Director of Academic Research for the Department of Dermatology, and is one of the key members of the project team. EWDRF part-funded this ground-breaking research, and no NHS funds were used for the project.

ABOUT HEARING DOGS FOR DEAF PEOPLE

Hearing Dogs for Deaf People is a registered charity that selects and trains dogs to respond to specific sounds. Hearing dogs alert deaf people by touch, using a paw to gain attention and then lead them back to the sound source. For sounds such as the smoke alarm and fire alarm the dogs will lay down to indicate danger. Seventy four per cent of all hearing dogs adopted into the scheme are either rescued or unwanted and since its inception in 1982, Hearing Dogs for Deaf People has placed over 1000 hearing dogs.

Four members of Hearing Dogs’ staff undertook the important task of training their own pet dogs for the cancer dog project. Deputy Chief Executive, Andy Cook; Operations Director, Claire Guest; National Operations Manager, Sandra Stevenson; and Jan Smith, Manager of the Charity’s Yorkshire training centre, trained the dogs in their spare time. They all have extensive knowledge in training hearing dogs. Andy and Claire, who have been with Hearing Dogs since 1987, are also successful gundog trainers and great exponents of the “clicker” method of training dogs. No funds given to Hearing Dogs were used for this project.

For further information contact:
Press Officer, Jenny Moir
(T) 01844 348 108/01844 348 110
( F) 01844 348 101 (M) 07769 901309
You can email her at: EMAIL

Or visit the Erasmus Wilson website: www.erasmuswilson.co.uk