06/12/2026
Incredible!
Dotty is part of our bowel cancer detection dog team and is learning to indicate to her trainers when she finds the odour of the disease in a miniscule amount of urine.
Bowel cancer is the fourth most common form of cancer in the UK. Due to the invasive nature of the colonoscopy screening process, only just over half of those offered will take it up.
We hope that by proving dogs can detect the odour in urine samples, which there is less stigma over providing, this would mean any resultant diagnostic test would be more accessible and more people would likely present for screening.
https://www.medicaldetectiondogs.org.uk/colorectal-cancer
The Open University: STEM The Open University Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust