Cancer cells emit different metabolic waste products than normal cells. The differences between these metabolic products are so great that they can be detected by a dog's keen sense of smell, even in the early stages of disease. |
Canine scent detection of cancer was something that was anecdotally discussed for decades, but we felt it was appropriate to design a rigorous study that seriously investigated this topic to better evaluate its effectiveness. |
For us, it's about giving cancer patients hope and options. One way you give patients options is through early detection. |
If dogs can detect cancer early, we wanted to investigate it. If you get time, you get hope. |
It's all about early detection. If you find the cancer early enough, you can give patients options. |
That's better than chance. But it's not clinically significant. |
These were not super dogs. They were just ordinary household pets. |
When we heard anecdotally that there was a device out there that might be able to detect cancer at its earliest stages, before it even shows up on an MRI [magnetic resonance imaging], it was something we wanted to pursue. |