Canine cancer detection forges ahead

Otago Daily Times

19-06-2025

A world-leading cancer detection programme based in Mosgiel could make the world of difference to the multitudes of New Zealand residents who are are diagnosed with cancer every day.
K9 Medical Detection NZ (K9MD) research nurse and Southland Hospital colorectal nurse specialist Kim Snoep said cancer did not discriminate and the numbers told a sobering story.
Early detection was key with silent-killer cancers like ovarian, she said.
"By the time 85% of women are diagnosed there's limited treatment because it's quite advanced."
Growing evidence suggested cancers had a scent which dogs could detect in urine samples.
While the K9MD unit's achievements had shown promising results in non-invasive detection of ovarian, bowel, breast and prostate in early stages, she did not see dogs replacing current tests.
"We are just giving another option and opportunity to give more information to the specialists.
"We are committed to transforming medical diagnostics through an innovative science-backed approach involving the use of highly trained dogs to detect disease at the earliest stages.
"So I call it another tool in the toolkit for early detection of cancer."
Dogs were selected by their genetic heritage, either from a hunting line or a dog breed used for police or search and rescue.
"They're not pets . . . so they have a very strong desire to work."
"As they get older, they learn to find a signature smell of a particular odour or a cancer odour."
Detection results were based on known positive or negative diagnosis. "That's how we know that the dogs are doing it correctly".
While training was still in its trial stages, many dogs were showing 98%-100% correct detection rates.
A dog had an average of 250 million receptors in their nose and mouth and a bloodhound had 300 million compared to a human that had six million receptors.
Unique like a human fingerprint, their noses were able to detect a teaspoon of sugar in two Olympic sized swimming pools of water, she said.
Dogs could isolate one odour or volatile organic compounds (VOC) among many others.
"If we all walk into a kitchen and go, 'that's a nice casserole', a dog will walk into that kitchen and go, 'that's nice onions, that's nice carrots, that's nice peas'."
The Mosgiel-based training unit had several dogs training since they they were 8 weeks old, starting with a personal rope toy, lots of organised puppy-play, lots of praise, and lots of food.
At 10-12 months they advanced to searching for a single strand from their rope toy in a row of VOC scent canisters
Each K9MD dog lived with a foster family or one of its trainers and had frequent community outings.
"They enjoy family life, so they're not kept in kennels.'
Pauline Blomfield started the medical detection unit in 2018, after envisioning dogs' micro-scent detecting abilities being used to detect cancer.
It started in Dunedin and Invercargill and the team was now expanding to include medical staff in Christchurch, Wellington and Hamilton.
Mrs Snoep said the K9 unit did not receive government funding but relied on public donations to meet its $1.5 million operational costs.
"We need visionaries, advocates and investors who are willing to stand with us in redefining what is possible in early cancer detection."
The unit were seeking women who had undergone a total hysterectomy or had both ovaries removed to provide guaranteed ovarian cancernegative samples for their trials.