Multicentre study for the evaluation of mutagenic/carcinogenic risk in nurses exposed to antineoplastic drugs: assessment of DNA damage

Publié le 28 janvier 2014 • Catégorie(s) : Risques chimiques • Mot(s) clef(s) : médicaments dangereux

Auteur Annamaria Buschini
Auteur Milena Villarini
Auteur Donatella Feretti
Auteur Francesca Mussi
Auteur Luca Dominici
Auteur Ilaria Zerbini
Auteur Massimo Moretti
Auteur Elisabetta Ceretti
Auteur Roberta Bonfiglioli
Auteur Mariella Carrieri
Auteur Umberto Gelatti
Auteur Carlo Rossi
Auteur Silvano Monarca
Auteur Paola Poli
Volume 70
Numéro 11
Pages 789-794
Publication Occupational and environmental medicine
Date Nov 2013
Résumé 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.