Perros que detectan el cáncer genital femenino

Un grupo de investigadores suecos y hungaros han estudiado la capacidad que tienen ciertos perros para detectar ciertos tipos de cáncer femenino a través del olfato. Se trata de enfermedades que pueden tener una evolución fulminante y donde el diagnóstico precoz no está garantizado.

Investigadores de la Universidad de Goteborg han entrenado perros para identificar el cáncer de cuello uterino, de endometrio y de ovario. El entrenamiento incluso intento la identificación de los llamados tumores de ovario borderline. Aunque los perros fueron capaces de identificar los casos de cáncer de ovario, no fueron capaces de distinguir los casos precoces de los avanzados. El editor de la revista donde se publica el artículo, Keith I. Block, dice que la capacidad de detección de olores específicos puede dar lugar a métodos muy fidedignos.

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Horvath G, Järverud GA, Järverud S, Horváth I. Human ovarian carcinomas detected by specific odor. Integr Cancer Ther 2008;7(2):76-80.

Department of Oncology, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Göteborg, Sweden. gyorgy.horvath@oncology.gu.se

The high mortality rate associated with ovarian carcinoma is mainly owing to late diagnosis. It is thus essential to develop inexpensive and simple methods for early diagnosis. Papers on canine scent detection of malignancies such as melanoma and bladder, lung, and breast cancer have recently been published in peer-reviewed journals, indicating a new diagnostic tool for malignancies. However, in these studies the dogs may have responded to odors associated with cancer, such as inflammation or metabolic products, rather than specifically to cancer itself. Therefore, it is important to ascertain whether or not human cancers are characterized by specific odors. We hypothesized that if ovarian carcinoma emits a specific odor, dogs may be trained to detect it. Using our training method, we taught a dog to distinguish different histopathological types and grades of ovarian carcinomas, including borderline tumors, from healthy control samples. Double-blind tests showed 100% sensitivity and 97.5% specificity. Moreover, the odor of ovarian carcinomas seems to differ from those of other gynecological malignances such cervical, endometrial, and vulvar carcinomas. Our study strongly suggests that the most common ovarian carcinomas are characterized by a single specific odor.

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