Dog detects tumor by smelling breath and saves owner: scientists now working on 'electronic nose' to detect cancer

©Aleksandar Mitrovic via Unsplash

In Kent, England, Inca, a German shepherd, did what no doctor had succeeded in doing: by obsessively sniffing her owner Colleen Ferguson's breath, she pointed out a problem that no one knew how to diagnose. The woman, who did not smoke and showed no obvious symptoms, discovered a lung carcinoma the size of a golf ball thanks to her dog's persistence.

After surgery, she needed no further treatments and the tumor was completely removed. Early diagnosis made the difference between surgery that saved her life and much more serious complications.

The power of the nose, explained by science

Inca's story is not an isolated one. Indeed, the nonprofit organization Medical Detection Dogs has shown that trained dogs can detect tumors simply by smelling urine or other biological samples. In fact, the volatile substances produced by the body during illness betray a unique chemical signature that dogs can detect.

From dog to machine: the e-nose

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are bringing this trait to the world of artificial intelligence. Quantum physicist Andreas Mershin has developed an e-nose, a device that can detect odorants in urine and accurately identify tumors, such as prostate cancer.

Currently, the e-nose is being tested on 500 samples at Milton Keynes University Hospital. The system uses chemical sensors and an algorithm based on simulated reward, inspired by the way dogs are trained, to continuously improve the accuracy of measurements.

A future with electronic noses

The direction is clear: smart devices with an 'electronic nose' could soon become standard clinical tools, making early diagnosis no longer just in specialized laboratories, but also in hospitals, or even via smartphones. Inca's sharp nose could thus usher in a new era: from dogs to computers, science is learning to detect cancer by smelling it, even before it's too late, allowing scent technology to become the next frontier of preventive medicine.

(©Medical Detection Dogs via GreenMe.it 2026 / Managing Editor: Julie Morgan - The Press Junction / Picture: ©Aleksandar Mitrovic via Unsplash)