VOA: Bees and dogs can detect cancer faster than devices

In laboratories across the United States, scientists are studying animals and insects for their cancer-detecting properties. As Voice of America correspondent Dora McCourt reports, recent research suggests that bees and dogs can detect the disease faster than medical devices.

Earlier this year, researchers at the University of Michigan discovered that bees with their keen sense of smell can detect lung cancer in a patient's breath.

"Our world is visual. The insect world is all about smell, so their sense of smell is very good," Debajit Saha, assistant professor of biomedical engineering at the University of Michigan, told VOA.

His team discovered that bees can smell lung cancer on a patient's breath.

"Our research shows that bees can detect lung cancer and possibly other diseases based on the smell the cells carry," he says.

Some bees were exposed to tests that mimicked the breath of a lung cancer patient. In 93% of cases the bees could distinguish between the breath of a cancer patient and healthy artificial respiration. Bees could also distinguish between different types of lung cancer.

"We think that diagnosing cancer through breathing can change everything. The reason is that many times we discover the cancer late, when the tumor has already grown", says Mr. Saha.

Researchers are also studying the dog's properties in early cancer detection. Animals have been trained to recognize specific odors of cancer.

"Many other animals also have highly developed senses of smell. But what makes dogs so good is that they cooperate with people and that's how they convey information," says Dr. Cindy Otto, from the University of Pennsylvania.

"Dogs love to interact. So it's like a fun game for them. They use their brains, they use their noses to find out," says Clara Wilson, of the Penn Vet Working Dog Center.

Dogs may think they're playing, but researchers say they can detect cancer better than medical equipment.

"We are finding that these dogs are bypassing the computers. "Part of their success is due to their superior ability to detect scent molecules compared to anything we currently use," says Amritha Mallikarjun, of the Penn Vet Working Dog Center.

Scientists are continuing to work with both dogs and bees to learn more about their ability to detect different types of cancer early.