[smart (OP)]

The canine olfactory ability is much sensitive at detecting variations in odors and smell. Dogs are well known for their ability to detect drugs or bombs. If so, would it be possible to train a dog in a clinical context to recognize cancer?

What do you think? 

[Colin2B]

There have been a number of reports of this, plus the following which suggests change of scent may be a part of many disease processes. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health-fitness/body/meet-woman-can-smell-parkinsons-disease/
See also this article about sensing epileptic and diabetic attack. http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=2817039&page=1
Certainly my brother’s breath changed when he was hypoglycaemic - well known effect used in first aid to differentiate between drunken collapse and diabetic emergency.

[chris]

We've talked about this on the Naked Scientists in the past:

https://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/index.php?topic=60455.0

https://www.thenakedscientists.com/articles/questions/can-dogs-really-smell-cancer

https://www.thenakedscientists.com/articles/questions/how-do-dogs-sniff-out-cancer

https://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/index.php?topic=36514.0

[smart (OP)]

We've talked about this on the Naked Scientists in the past

My bad! I must have joined this amazing forum a few months later...

Anyways, i'm quite impressed by the complex olfactory sense of sniffing dogs!

More research is needed... obviously!

See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canine_cancer_detection

 

[smart (OP)]

Can we push this concept further and train dogs to detect mental health problems?