Rekhadevi P V, Sailaja N, Chandrasekhar M, Mahboob M, Rahman M F, Grover Paramjit
Toxicology Unit, Biology Division, Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad 500 007, Andhra Pradesh, India.
Mutagenesis. 2007 Nov;22(6):395-401. doi: 10.1093/mutage/gem032. Epub 2007 Sep 13.
Many anti-neoplastic drugs are used globally during chemotherapy in the treatment of cancer. However, occupational exposure to anti-cancer drugs can represent a potential health risk to humans. Investigations on the genotoxicity of these drugs are inconsistent. Further, information on the genotoxic potential of anti-neoplastic drugs in medical personnel from India is not available. Hence, the aim of this study was to carry out genotoxicity monitoring of nurses from the oncology department of a hospital in South India, occupationally exposed to anti-neoplastic drugs under routine working conditions. The level of genome damage was determined in whole blood with the comet assay as well as micronucleus test (MNT) and in buccal epithelial cells with MNT alone of 60 nurses handling anti-neoplastic drugs and 60 referents matched for age and sex. Urinary cyclophosphamide (CP), used as a marker for drug absorption, was also measured in the urine of the nurses. The DNA damage observed in the lymphocytes of exposed nurses was significantly higher than the controls. Similarly, a significant increase in micronuclei (MN) frequency with peripheral blood lymphocytes and buccal cells was observed in the exposed nurses compared to controls (P < 0.05). Multiple regression analysis showed that occupational exposure and age had a significant effect on mean comet tail length as well as on frequency of MN. The mean value of CP in urine of the nurses handling anti-neoplastic drugs was (mean +/- standard deviation; 0.44 +/- 0.26 microg/ml). Our study has shown that increased genetic damage was evident in nurses due to occupational exposure to anti-neoplastics. This data corroborate the need to maintain safety measures to avoid exposure and the necessity of intervention in the case of exposure when using and handling anti-neoplastic drugs.
全球在癌症化疗期间会使用多种抗肿瘤药物。然而，职业接触抗癌药物可能对人类健康构成潜在风险。关于这些药物遗传毒性的调查结果并不一致。此外，印度医务人员接触抗肿瘤药物的遗传毒性潜力方面的信息也不可得。因此，本研究的目的是对印度南部一家医院肿瘤科的护士进行遗传毒性监测，这些护士在常规工作条件下职业接触抗肿瘤药物。通过彗星试验以及微核试验（MNT）测定60名接触抗肿瘤药物的护士和60名年龄及性别匹配的对照者全血中的基因组损伤水平，并仅通过MNT测定颊黏膜上皮细胞中的基因组损伤水平。还测量了护士尿液中用作药物吸收标志物的尿中环磷酰胺（CP）。观察到接触组护士淋巴细胞中的DNA损伤明显高于对照组。同样，与对照组相比，接触组护士外周血淋巴细胞和颊黏膜细胞中的微核（MN）频率显著增加（P < 0.05）。多元回归分析表明，职业接触和年龄对平均彗星尾长以及MN频率有显著影响。接触抗肿瘤药物的护士尿液中CP的平均值为（平均值±标准差；0.44±0.26微克/毫升）。我们的研究表明，护士因职业接触抗肿瘤药物而出现明显的遗传损伤增加。这些数据证实了需要维持安全措施以避免接触，以及在使用和处理抗肿瘤药物时接触情况下进行干预的必要性。
