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Abstract
Anticancer drugs have genotoxic, mutagenic or carcinogenic effects not only in cancer patients but also in those preparing and administering such drugs. Radiation therapy is also used in the treatment of cancer patients. Unnecessary exposure of nurses who are caring for cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy may cause alterations in their DNA such as base damage, single-and double-strand breaks, corss- linking and chromosomal aberrations. The purposes of this study were to examine the chromosomal aberrations, mitotic index and DNA damage in peripheral lymphocytes of nurses handling antineoplastic drugs and of nurses exposed to radiation therapy, and to examine the effect of Nigella Sativa as a natural product in reducing the mutagenic effects resulting from exposure to chemotherapy.
A convenience sample consisted of 50 nurses working at the National cancer institute, Cairo University, Egypt. Twenty nurses handling antineoplastic drugs, 20 nurses exposed to radiation therapy and 10 matched nurses with on exposure to chemotherapy or radiation therapy. Each subject completed a demographic questionnaire and a peripheral blood sample was taken. These blood samples were used to study DNA damage using a single-cell gel electrophoresis technique. Chromosomal