The effect of urine sample temperature on the efficacy of olfactory detection of prostate cancer in men by a specially trained dog

Abstract

The objective of the study was to determine whether the temperature of urine samples from patients with prostate cancer or the temperature of urine samples from men not suffering from this condition affects the efficacy of prostate cancer detection performed by a specially trained dog using its olfactory abilities. A total of 218 urine samples, divided into two sets differing in temperature, were tested for male prostate cancer by a dog sniffing urine samples. In group 1 (urine temperature 15–23 °C), 120 urine samples were examined by a sniffer dog, of which 57 samples were positive (from the group of men with established prostate cancer) and 63 samples were negative (from men not affected by prostate cancer). In group 2 (urine temperature 2–14 °C), 98 urine samples were examined by a sniffer dog, of which 51 were positive (from the group of men with established prostate cancer) and 47 were negative (from men not affected by prostate cancer). The results of our study demonstrated no link between the efficacy of male prostate cancer detection performed by a specially trained dog using its olfactory abilities from a urine sample and the temperature range from 2–23 °C (P > 0.05).