[Detection of Volatile Organic Compounds Associated with Hepatocellular Carcinoma by Macrosmatic Animals: Approaches to the Search for New Tumor Markers].

Macrosmatic animals (dogs and mice) have been proved to be able to distinguish between the urine or feces of mice with transplanted hepatocellular carcinoma and those of healthy mice by odor. The chemical composition of animal excreta was found to change with tumor growth; however, it is not clear yet if this results from tumor growth itself, inflammation, or immune response. We suggested that the use of the ability of macrosmatic animals to compare odor mixtures combined with mouse cancer models is a promising trend in the search for new tumor markers.