At ASDA, we’re passionate about dogs. We know their talents are so spectacular that they can be used to save lives—which is why we dedicate so much time and energy on handler and K9 training,  community education, and of course—search and rescue efforts and cancer research.

As we advance our understanding of dogs’ talents through clinical research, we want everyone to know what we’re learning. So when the Museum of Discovery in Little Rock asked us to be an exhibit in their inaugural Spark! fundraiser, we barked at the chance!

With the hope of “igniting a passion for science, technology and math,” we joined seven other teams to share some of the cutting-edge research happening in Central Arkansas. Not only was the event FUN, it allowed us to have an easy and open dialogue with our community. 

We had several people stop by our table to ask questions, be as fascinated and as impressed as we are, and of course, pose with the famous John D.

We hope to see you at the next one!

Q. Why is the detection of cancer by these amazing dogs so important? 

A. Well, the short answer is that the dogs provide us with a capability that currently does not exist in medicine. With their amazing sensory abilities, their training potential, and their unique relationship with humans, dogs can provide the medical community with an unprecedented skill set.  

I, along with my endocrinologist colleague, Dr. Don Bodenner, am investigating the detection of thyroid cancer in saliva, blood, or urine of metastatic (malignant) thyroid cancer patients. It is important to realize that current screening methods often have a hard time differentiating benign (not cancerous) from malignant (cancerous) nodules (lumps). 

With current diagnostic methods, 20 to 40% of thyroid biopsies will not return a diagnosis after the patient is first biopsied. As a result, multiple biopsy procedures are required, each entailing the same probability of incomplete diagnosis. As a general rule, if a patient is not diagnosed after 3 biopsy attempts, they are then referred for surgical procedure. Of those patients who have been biopsied 3 times without nodule type confirmation, 80% will receive unnecessary surgery.

In other words, 80% of those with indeterminate biopsies who undergo thyroid removal surgery DID NOT require surgery. Imagine the time, expense, pain, and anxiety associated with all these procedures only to finally realize the lump in your throat was not cancer after all. 

Now imagine if the dogs could tell you at the very beginning of your clinical treatment whether or not your lump was cancerous. This would greatly assist your doctor in determining the proper course of your clinical treatment and eventual cure. Further, the total time from diagnosis to cure would be dramatically shortened. 

We have already demonstrated that the dogs can detect metastatic cancer in patient urine or blood with greater than 97% accuracy. Currently, we are determining if the dogs' examination upon patient presentation is predictive of the patients' clinical outcomes. These studies will help us determine their capability for early disease detection. If these studies have the anticipated results, it is then our intent to perform larger scale trials to validate their utilization in clinical practice and diagnosis.     

Arny A. Ferrando, PhD
Professor, Geriatrics
Center for Translational Research in Aging and Longevity

We are so excited to share with you the new things we are working on!

From the UAMS website: 

"In the first study of its kind, Alexander “Sandy” Burnett, M.D., at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), is testing whether local search and rescue dogs can detect ovarian cancer.

Ovarian cancer is often called the silent killer because the disease frequently progresses to advanced stages before symptoms appear, and there is no early detection screening. Ovarian cancer is the ninth most common cancer among women and the fifth leading cause of cancer-related death among women – the deadliest of gynecologic cancers..."

READ MORE HERE