[The Necessity and the Current Status of Safe Handling of Anticancer Drugs].

Number of people who handle anticancer drugs in their profession is increasing. Anticancer drugs, which are hazardous drugs(HD), exert cytocidal effects on cancer cells, but many have also been shown to have mutagenicity, teratogenicity and carcinogenicity; therefore, safe handling of anticancer drugs is necessary. In July 2015, the first Japanese guidelines for exposure control measures, namely, the "Joint Guidelines for Safe Handling of Cancer Chemotherapy Drugs", were published jointly by 3 societies. Our guideline is the creation of the Japanese Society of Cancer Nursing(JSCN), Japanese Society of Medical Oncology(JSMO)and Japanese Society of Pharmaceutical Oncology(JASPO)and has a historical significance. This paper states the necessity of safe handling of anticancer drugs, Japan's recent movement of safe handling, the introduction of joint guidelines of safe handling of anticancer drugs, and new movement of safe handling of USP chapter 800 in the United States.