Cytogenetic consequences after occupational exposure to antineoplastic drugs.

Cytogenetic monitoring was carried out on a group of 38 nurses who reconstitute antineoplastic drugs in order to determine the extent of chromosomal damage. Genotoxic activities of antineoplastic drugs are studied by chromosome aberration assay, micronucleus assay, sister chromatid exchange (SCE) frequency high frequency cells (HFC) analysis, and mitotic activity of peripheral lymphocytes. Results confirmed that occupational exposure to a mixture of antineoplastic drugs may cause genome damages. The results of this study show that biomonitoring after exposure to a mixture of antineoplastic drugs which express clastogenic and aneugenic activity should involve a battery of cytogenetic methods.