Abstract
BackgroundAnti-neoplastic agents are widely used in the treatment of cancer and some non-neoplastic diseases. These drugs have been proved to be carcinogens, teratogens, and mutagens. Concern exists regarding the possible dangers of the staff handling anti-cancer drugs. The long-term exposure of nurses to anti-neoplastic drugs is still a controversial issue. The purpose of this study was to monitor cellular toxicity parameters and gene expression in nurses who work in chemotherapy wards and compare them to nurses who work in other wards.MethodsTo analyze the apoptosis-related genes overexpression and cytotoxicity effects, peripheral blood lymphocytes obtained from oncology nurses and the control group.The resultsSignificant alterations in four analyzed apoptosis-related genes were observed in oncology nurses. In most individual samples being excavated, Bcl-2 overexpression is superior to that of Bax. Prominent P53 and Hif-1α up-regulation were observed in oncology nurses. Moreover, all cytotoxicity parameters (cell viability, ROS formation, MMP collapse, Lysosomal membrane damage, Lipid peroxidation, Caspase 3 activity and Apoptosis phenotype) in exposed oncology nurses were significantly (p < 0.001) higher than those of unexposed control nurses. Up-regulation of three analyzed apoptosis-related genes were observed in nurses occupationally exposed to anti-cancer drugs.ConclusionOur data show that oxidative stress and mitochondrial toxicity induced by anti-neoplastic drugs lead to overexpression of apoptosis-related genes in oncology nurses.
Highlights
Anti-neoplastic agents are widely used in the treatment of cancer and some non-neoplastic diseases
All of the above-mentioned symptoms were higher in nurses in the exposed group, but most of these nurses complained of skin irritation, dizziness, a headache, and heavy headache (Fig. 1)
We previously reported the results of mitochondrial toxicity and oxidative stress parameters in nurses that have been occupationally exposed to antineoplastic drugs [15]
Summary
Anti-neoplastic agents are widely used in the treatment of cancer and some non-neoplastic diseases. These drugs have been proved to be carcinogens, teratogens, and mutagens. Concern exists regarding the possible dangers of the staff handling anti-cancer drugs. Chemotherapy is an important method for cancer treatment that is used for anti-cancer drugs to cure patients. Previous studies showed the possible dangers there to the staff handling anti-cancer drugs [2, 3]. Mutagenic and carcinogenic effects of anti-cancer drugs were shown in 1969 by the International Agency for Research on Cancer [4, 5]. Overexpression of the pro-apoptotic proteins can lead to increased mitochondrial membrane collapse and release of cytochrome c, which can lead to ectopic apoptosis in lymphocytes [8, 9]
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