You have accessJournal of UrologyProstate Cancer: Detection and Screening V1 Apr 20102159 THE USE OF CANINES FOR PROSTATE CANCER DETECTION: TOWARDS A NON-INVASIVE ALTERNATIVE SCREENING TOOL Jean-Nicolas Cornu, Caroline Girardet, Géraldine Cancel-Tassin, Philippe Ulmer, and Olivier Cussenot Jean-Nicolas CornuJean-Nicolas Cornu More articles by this author , Caroline GirardetCaroline Girardet More articles by this author , Géraldine Cancel-TassinGéraldine Cancel-Tassin More articles by this author , Philippe UlmerPhilippe Ulmer More articles by this author , and Olivier CussenotOlivier Cussenot More articles by this author View All Author Informationhttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.juro.2010.02.2261AboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints ShareFacebookTwitterLinked InEmail INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES Detection of bladder and breast cancer by trained dogs, recognizing smell of volatiles organic compounds (VOCs) in human urine samples has been studied with promising results. Our aim was to evaluate the effectiveness of a test for prostate cancer detection by trained dogs on human urines samples. METHODS Fresh urine samples, frozen for preservation, were obtained from 66 patients referred to a urologist for elevated PSA or abnormal digital rectal examination. All patients underwent prostatic biopsy and 2 groups were considered. In the cancer group (33 patients), biopsy has shown prostate cancer in every patient. Mean age ±SD was 64±7 years, mean PSA value ±SD was 12±15 ng/mL and median (range) Gleason score was 7 (6-9). In the control group (33 patients), mean age ±SD was 63±7 years, mean PSA value ±SD was 8.2±4 ng/mL, and biopsy has shown normal tissue or inflammatory lesions. Age and PSA value were not significantly different between two groups (p=0.7, p=0.8 respectively). Dogs were trained to recognize, by smelling, urines from patients presenting a prostate cancer. The study was based on games and was made of 3 phases. In the first phase (5 months), dogs were learned to recognize cancer urine by means of operant conditioning, using the clicker training method. In the second phase (11 months), dogs were trained to discriminate cancer urine from control urine using the same training method. In the final phase, dogs were asked to signal a cancer urine among 5 samples containing only one cancer urine. The last phase was double-blinded. Sensitivity and specificity of the test were evaluated. RESULTS Dogs correctly classified 63 out of 66 samples during the test phase, with 3 false-positive. Sensibility and specificity were 100% (CI 89-100%) and 91% (76-98%) respectively. Positive and negative predictive values were 92% and 100% respectively. CONCLUSIONS Dogs can be trained to recognize presence of a prostate cancer by smelling urine samples with a significant success rate. These results suggest that VOCs produced by cancer cells can be detected in urine samples. Identification of these substances could lead to a highly specific screening tool for prostate cancer. Paris, France© 2010 by American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 183Issue 4SApril 2010Page: e839-e840 Advertisement Copyright & Permissions© 2010 by American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.MetricsAuthor Information Jean-Nicolas Cornu More articles by this author Caroline Girardet More articles by this author Géraldine Cancel-Tassin More articles by this author Philippe Ulmer More articles by this author Olivier Cussenot More articles by this author Expand All Advertisement Advertisement PDF DownloadLoading ...