RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Multicentre study for the evaluation of mutagenic/carcinogenic risk in nurses exposed to antineoplastic drugs: assessment of DNA damage
JF Occupational and Environmental Medicine
JO Occup Environ Med
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd
SP 789
OP 794
DO 10.1136/oemed-2013-101475
VO 70
IS 11
A1 Buschini, Annamaria
A1 Villarini, Milena
A1 Feretti, Donatella
A1 Mussi, Francesca
A1 Dominici, Luca
A1 Zerbini, Ilaria
A1 Moretti, Massimo
A1 Ceretti, Elisabetta
A1 Bonfiglioli, Roberta
A1 Carrieri, Mariella
A1 Gelatti, Umberto
A1 Rossi, Carlo
A1 Monarca, Silvano
A1 Poli, Paola
YR 2013
UL http://oem.bmj.com/content/70/11/789.abstract
AB Objectives People who handle antineoplastic drugs, many of which classified as human carcinogens by International Agency for Research on Cancer, are exposed to low doses in comparison with patients; however, the long duration of exposure could lead to health effects. The aim of this work was to evaluate DNA damage in white blood cells from 63 nurses who handle antineoplastic drugs in five Italian hospitals and 74 control participants, using different versions of the Comet assay. Methods Primary DNA damage was assessed by using the alkaline version of the assay on leucocytes, whereas to detect DNA oxidative damage and cryptic lesions specifically, the Comet/ENDO III assay and the Comet/araC assay were performed on leucocytes and lymphocytes, respectively. Results In the present study, no significant DNA damage was correlated with the work shift. The exposed population did not differ significantly from the reference group with respect to DNA primary and oxidative damage in leucocytes. Strikingly, in isolated lymphocytes treated with araC, lower data dispersion as well as a significantly lower mean value for the percentage of DNA in the comet tail was observed in exposed participants as compared with the control group (p<0.05), suggesting a potential chronic exposure to crosslinking antineoplastic drugs. Conclusions Although stringent rules were adopted at national and international levels to prevent occupational exposure to antineoplastic drugs, data reported in this study support the idea that a more efficient survey on long-lasting exposures at very low concentrations is needed.