Multicenter study for environmental and biological monitoring of occupational exposure to cyclophosphamide in Japan

Abstract

Purpose. A multicenter field survey of environmental contamination and exposure of healthcare professionals to anticancer drugs were performed.

Setting. Three university hospitals, one cancer specialty hospital and two corporate hospitals from across Japan.

Method. The environmental contamination with cyclophosphamide (CP) was investigated. A wipe examination was performed at six sites apiece in two divisions. The urinary excretion of the CP over 24 h was determined. The subjects of the survey included physicians, pharmacists, and nurses, for a total of seven at each facility irrespective of job title. The wipe samples were collected at 12 sites within two divisions at each facility. For the exposure survey, the total urine volume was determined, and a portion of the urine sample was then collected from each participants at each facility. Urine was collected for 24 h. The samples were determined by using the GC-MS method.

Results. Wipe examination: contamination with CP was identified at 50% of the sites. The concentration was high (CP > 1.00 ng/cm²) in the general environment in two hospitals and in the safety cabinet in one hospital. In the survey for the exposure of staff to anticancer drugs, 276 samples were obtained from 41 healthcare professionals. CP was detected in 90 samples obtained from 23 subjects. The amount of exposure was greatly different among the facilities. The urinary excretion of CP per subject was between 2.7 and 462.8 ng/24 h. The range of urinary excretion for each hospital was between 4.6 and 211.2 ng/24 h.