J.Jpn. Surg. Soc.
ISSN 1880-1129

[Abstract] [Full Text HTML] [Full Text PDF] （in Japanese / 462KB） [Members Only]

J.Jpn. Surg. Soc.. 119(3): 272-277, 2018

Feature topic

RESEARCH ON DEVELOPING CANCER-ODOR SENSORS

1) Department of General Surgery, Imari Arita Kyoritsu Hospital, Arita, Saga, Japan
2) Department of Surgery and Science, Kyushu University Graduate School of Medicine, Fukuoka, Japan
3) Research and Development Center for Taste and Odor Sensing, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
4) Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Kyushu University Graduate School of Bioresource and Bioenvironmental Sciences, Fukuoka, Japan
5) Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Kyushu University Graduate School of Information Science and Electrical Engineering, Fukuoka, Japan
6) St. Sugar Cancer Sniffing Dog Training Center, Tateyama, Chiba, Japan

Sonoda Hideto1)2)3), Eiji Oki2)3), Mitsuru Tanaka3)4), Toshiro Matsui3)4), Takeshi Onodera3)5), Kiyoshi Toko3)5), Yuji Satoh6), Yoshihiko Maehara2)3)

The ability of surgeons to cure cancer by resecting lesions is the greatest when the disease is in the early phase. The development of new methods to detect cancer in the earliest stage is expected to result in breakthroughs in its treatment. Our group and others reported that cancer is associated with a specific odor that can be perceived by biological olfactory sensors such as dogs. Cancer changes its metabolism by gene mutation and acquires malignant traits. The odors of cancer are the final products of that metabolic change. Omics research such as genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, etc. is being actively conducted for comprehensive analysis of cancer-specific changes in DNA, RNA, proteins, and metabolism and its products which will identify novel cancer detection markers. The search for substances that define the odors of cancer falls under the category of omics research. Although it is difficult to recognize cancer-specific metabolites contained in various environmental substances, it has been confirmed to be possible because they are recognizable by biological olfaction. Research to pinpoint novel cancer detection markers and develop sensors for them should continue for the benefit of numerous patients.

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