Determination of Urinary Cyclophosphamide in Oncology Nurses Handling Antineoplastic Drugs by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry

125 Determination of Urinary Cyclophosphamide in Oncology Nurses Handling Antineoplastic Drugs by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry Summary : The aim of the study was to detect exposure to antineoplastic drugs, using cyclophosphamide (CP) as the model compound, in nurses who worked in oncology departments of hospitals. Chemotherapy with antineoplastic agents is often used in the treatment of cancer. When handling antineoplastic drugs, nurses and physicians may face certain health risks. Many antineoplastic agents directly or indirectly react with DNA. Consequently, the proliferation of tumor cells is decreased. CP, one of the most commonly used antineoplastic drugs, is known to be a human carcinogen [Group 1 class according to International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC)]. CP is known to be a model compound for the identification of potential exposure situations in the various phases of its manufacture and hospital use. A sensitive gas chromatographic method for the determination of CP in urine is used. In the present study, after liquid-liquid extraction with diethyl ether and derivatization with trifluoroacetic anhydride, CP was identified and quantified with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The urinary excretion rate ranged from 0-2.12 μg CP/ 24 h.