U.S. scientists announced they had discovered that specific odor from skin cancer tissue samples might be used to diagnose the disease.

The newly discovered concept uses nanotechnology to "sniff" the air and instantly detect a pattern of chemicals. Scientists are now trying to develop a device that can be used in hospitals everywhere. Researchers also said at the annual conference of the American Chemical Society in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that they are very optimistic that one day doctors will be able to give diagnostics of skin cancer just by waving a special scanner over the skin.

The research team was led by Michelle Gallagher at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia.

The tests were made on a total of 22 participants, 11 with and 11 without basal cell carcinomas. They found that the patients with cancer had significantly different concentrations of certain chemicals.

"The fact that we were able to see statistically significant differences in certain chemicals and say yes these are biomarkers related to skin cancer is really, really exciting to us," said Dr. Gallagher.

It appears that dogs are able to smell cancer, according to recent studies, because they smell differently than normal skin. Dr. Carolyn Willis, a dermatology researcher from Amersham Hospital in Buckinghamshire, is trying to develop a cancer test using trained dogs to detect subtle changes in the odor of urine which could indicate bladder cancer, and is hoping to detect prostate and skin cancers the same way.