Lung cancer is the No. 1 killer in the U.S., and more than 45,000 people will be diagnosed
with head and neck cancer in 2015.
Early detection dramatically improves survival rates. Currently, no reliable
methods exist to screen for these cancers.
Specially trained companion
dogs can detect cancer with remarkable accuracy.
With your help, we will train dogs to detect throat
and lung cancer in saliva with a simple spit test. If successful, this project has the
potential to save countless lives. Alfie and Charlie are the first dogs at UC
Davis being trained to detect throat and lung cancer in saliva.
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How much money do we need and what will it be used for?
To custom-build a saliva sample test station that the dogs will use to detect the unique smell of cancer and to specially train two dog handlers, we need $ 15,000. Every gift we receive makes a difference toward reaching our goal!
Meet our team:
Gregory Farwell, MD and Hilary Brodie, MD, PhD. UC Davis School of Medicine, Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery.
During their many
years of clinical practice, our team at the
UC
Davis School of Medicine has witnessed the devastating impact of throat
and lung cancer and has provided comprehensive
services to patients residing in Northern California. We are
extremely excited to partner with the InSitu Foundation on this project to
develop a clinical screening tool for throat and lung cancer using canine scent detection.
Dina Zaphiris
Founder of the
InSitu Foundation and World Leader in Canine Scent Detection.
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The InSitu
Foundation is a not-for-profit 501(c)3 foundation dedicated to training dogs to
detect cancer in humans. InSitu has participated in two federally funded
studies, where they evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of canine scent detection
in early and late-stage lung, breast, and ovarian cancers. Dina is thrilled to partner
with UC Davis to train dogs to detect throat and lung cancer in saliva.
Our Mission: To use canine scent to detect throat and lung cancer in humans.
The science behind our project:
Cancer smells! Metabolic changes
in cancer cells are reflected in the chemical composition of volatile organic
compounds (VOCs) emanating from the body. VOCs have great potential as
diagnostic cancer biomarkers. Lung and breast cancer patients can be
distinguished from healthy controls through differences in their breath VOC
profiles, determined using analytical methods. For clinical screening, however,
these are impracticable, since they are not sensitive or specific enough. The
canine olfactory system is well suited to circumvent these challenges. Trained
sniffer dogs have successfully discriminated cancer specimens from healthy controls
and were able to detect lung and breast cancer in breath with amazing accuracy. Our dogs will be trained to discriminate saliva scent profiles of throat and lung cancer
patients from non-cancer controls. We will use reward-based conditioning to
train the dogs to detect the odor of throat and lung cancer.
Canine scent detection will transform the screening of
early throat and lung cancer. Every early
cancer identified is a potential life saved.
We need your help. Thank you.
If you prefer not to use a credit card, please feel free to send a check to:
Sharon
Schauer
Chief
Administrative Officer
Department
of Otolaryngology
2521
Stockton Blvd, Suite 7200
University
of California Davis Medical Center
Sacramento, CA
95817-2207
Please note "Dogs Detect Throat and Lung Cancer " on your check.
