A dog looks up at the camera. Dogs have been trained to detect bladder cancer by sniffing urine, using their acute sense of smell to identify a tiny but characteristic odour released by tumours, a study says. [AFP/file]

    BEIJING, Sept. 24 (Xinhuanet) -- British researchers have trained dogs to detect bladder cancer by smelling urine. Six dogs were trained to detect odours in urine. 

    Six dogs were trained for over 7 months to detect distinctive odours in urine produced by tumours. With an excellent sense of smell, they are able to detect minute quantities of the organic compounds produced by tumours.

    Each dog was presented with samples from patients with bladder cancer, patients with other urological disorders, and healthy people without bladder cancer. They were trained to identify their chosen sample by lying next to it.

    The dogs were able to identify urine samples with bladder cancer 22 times out of 54, a success rate of 41 percent. Enditem