A novel approach for the non-invasive diagnosis of prostate cancer based on urine odour analysis

Abstract

The diagnosis of prostate cancer (PCa) still remains difficult mainly due to limits of current screening procedure. The analysis of urine odor represents an opportunity and valid alternative. Trained dogs proved extraordinary capability to recognize PCa-specific volatile-organic compounds. Unfortunately, dogs cannot be introduced in the clinical setting. Thus, the interest in instruments mimicking the canine olfactory system is gaining increasing attention. In this context, we here propose an electronic nose (EN) for the non-invasive diagnosis of PCa and report the results of a blind cohort study to compare EN performance with trained dogs' olfaction.