By Wendy Anders

The first steps towards using dogs for detecting cancer in humans are being taken by the Costa Rican Canine Association, a civic group working throughout the country to promote and educate on dog-related issues to “have a positive impact on society,” according to their website.

The Teletica Channel 7 news station last week reported on their latest push to train dogs in detecting prostate cancer cells in human urine.

A similar project is underway in Valencia, Spain, according to EFE.

Costa Rica’s project has started training dogs by exposing them to cancerous cells and then, through rewards, ensuring the memory of these cells is ingrained on the dogs olfactory memory, explained a Canine Association member to Teletica.

Studies have show that dogs have upwards of 200 million olfactory sensors (compared to humans’ 5 million or so), making them a natural ally in numerous areas of human need.

According to the Canine Association, dogs can detect cancerous prostate cells in human urine with upwards of 95 per cent accuracy, which is not only greater than the accuracy of conventional blood tests, but less invasive, and less expensive.

The association invited cooperation from local institutions, saying they are in need of a regular supply of urine samples from men with prostate cancer to use in their canine training sessions. They hope health agencies will also sign on with the idea which could help early detection of the disease in Costa Rica.

According to the Ministry of Health, prostate cancer and stomach cancer are the top mortality-causing cancers among men in Costa Rica. In 2013, 381 deaths in men were attributed to stomach cancer or 15.7 per cent of all cancer deaths in men, and prostate cancer was responsible for 412 deaths in men or 17 per cent of total cancer deaths in men that year.

Nearly a decade ago, National Geographic reported on a study in which plain old household dogs were, after a few weeks of basic training and food rewards, able to detect cancer by sniffing a person’s breath.

“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,” said Nicholas Broffman, executive director of the Pine Street Foundation, the San Anselmo, California-based organization that undertook the study in 2006.

”Cancer cells emit different metabolic waste products than normal cells,” Broffman said. “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.”

Since early detection is often literally a life-and-death matter when it comes to cancer, dogs just may well be a welcome and effective part of the solution for this growing health problem.