title: Effects of orally administered antioxidants on micronuclei and sister chromatid exchange frequency in workers professionally exposed to antineoplastic agents.
abstract: The widespread use of antineoplastic drugs in cancer treatment increased concern about possible hazard to workers involved in the preparation and administration of these drugs. In the present study, the effects of commercial antioxidative drug Oligogal Se on genome protection were analyzed in 15 nurses handling the antineoplastic drugs at the Oncology Department in comparison to twenty healthy volunteers. The nurses took antioxidant mixture Oligogal Se, consisting of vitamins C, E, A and selenium, one capsule per day, over a period of 6 months. Genome damage was measured in peripheral blood lymphocytes by usage of sister chromatid exchange test and the cytokinesis-block micronuclei test. The frequency of sister chromatid exchange (SCE) and micronuclei (MN) in the exposed group was significantly higher when compared to the control group (SCE, p<0.05; MN, p<0.01 respectively). After antioxidant supplementation, the frequency of sister chromatid exchange and micronuclei decreased (p<0.05) when compared with the values from the beginning of the study, but were still above the values of the control group. The effects of confounding factors such as cigarette smoking and cytostatics exposure time were also evaluated. The data indicated that Oligogal Se contributed to the decreasing of genome damages in workers handling the cytostatics.
authors.affiliation: Oncology Institute of Vojvodina, Experimental Oncology Department, Institutski put 4, 21204 Sremska Kamenica, Serbia.
authors.forename: Jasminka
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mrđanović
authors.forename: Saša
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jungić
authors.forename: Slavica
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Šolajić
authors.forename: Višnja
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Bogdanović
authors.forename: Vladimir
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Jurišić
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000633:toxicity*; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D015162:Micronucleus Tests; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012854:Sister Chromatid Exchange
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D000975:Antioxidants