Dogs can detect the smell of lung cancer with shocking accuracy, according to new study

We already know that our dogs’ noses are impressive. Plenty of studies have been done to determine their ability to detect cancer and other illnesses. But a new study is revealing just how accurate our pups are.

Recently, we here at Dog O Day discussed the fact that thanks to new technology, dogs are helping scientists and doctors in the detection of cancer. But, according to a new study, it seems that our pups are even better at finding cancer than we may have previously thought.

According to Bustle, when it comes to finding lung cancer, our dogs are shockingly accurate. In fact, a study that was published in The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association determined that canines are up to 97 percent accurate when it comes to sniffing out the disease.

And we are not talking end stages of cancer either. Apparently, our dogs are able to sniff out the very early stages of the disease. We all know that the earlier cancer is caught the better, and if our dogs are this accurate with their sniffing, then that means there is a high likelihood our pups could save our lives. Talk about being “Man’s best friend” for real.

Apparently it took researchers just eight weeks to train two beagles to sniff out cancer, or to be more accurate the biomarkers that determine if a person has the disease. Once trained, the beagles were able to identify the biomarkers 97 percent of the time, which is an amazing feat.

While this study is only the beginning of learning what our pups can do to help the medical field deal with and detect cancer, it seems that this could be an alternative to the more expensive and sometimes less accurate methods that currently exist. And scientists agree, as they are looking into more studies to determine if this doggy detection method could become a more mainstream approach to detecting cancer.

If you are wondering how a dog could be so beneficial to the detection of cancer, you have to remember that our dogs have noses that are nearly supernatural in their abilities. When our canine friends interact with other dogs, it is their nose that lets them know if a dog is friendly or not, or even if the other dog is healthy. So, it really should come as no surprise that our pups would have a nose that is strong enough to detect lung cancer.

And it is not just lung cancer that our dogs are detecting with their powerful noses. Other forms of cancer that our pups have been able to detect include melanoma and ovarian cancer.

I don’t know about you, but it sounds like our dogs could end up being lifesavers in more ways than one. And it is thanks to studies like this that we are learning just how impressive our furry friends truly are.

Are you surprised by the fact that dogs can detect cancer with their noses? How do you think the medical field should utilize this information? Tell us what you think in the comments.