Objective: DNA damage that can be caused by workplace exposure to antineoplastic drugs in health workers has been shown in many scientific studies. It is aimed to evaluate whether the risk of genotoxicity in health workers decreases after the regulations and measures taken by national and international health authorities in our work. Methods: For this purpose, DNA damage was assessed by using alkaline comet technique in lymphocytes isolated from blood samples of health workers (n=29) who were involved in preparing and / or administering antineoplastic agent at Trakya University Health Research and Application Center and compared with the control group (n=30). Also, those who prepare and/or administer antineoplastic agents; (n=16) and manual (n=13) preparations. Results: As a result of the evaluation, there was no statistically significant difference between health personnel and control group in preparing and / or administering antineoplastic agent (p>0,05, Mann-Whitney U) and there was no difference in the genotoxic risk between preparation forms. Furthermore, when the exposed control group was assessed for DNA damage as smokers and nonsmokers, there was no statistically significant difference in terms of DNA damage (p>0.05). Conclusion: At the center where our samples were taken, the resulting measures resulted in the control of the risk of genotoxicity due to occupational exposure to antineoplastic agents.

OBJECTIVE:Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide and the incidence increases in postmenopausal women. Anastrozole is a non-steroidal (type II), third-generation aromatase inhibitor (AI) that is used in the treatment of postmenopausal estrogen-related breast cancer. Several studies have been conducted to assess the efficacy, safety, and superiority of AIs to tamoxifen; however, a literature search did not reveal a study that investigated the genotoxic potential of AIs. The aim of this study was to investigate the possible DNA damage risk profile and individual DNA repair capacity of patients using anastrozole with the modified alkaline comet assay in order to contribute to public health and health economics.METHODS:Women diagnosed with breast cancer after menopause comprised the study group. Six patients who had taken anastrozole for at least 6 months were retrospectively enrolled, and 12 patients who had not yet received treatment were prospectively enrolled as a control group. Peripheral blood lymphocytes were used to measure oxidized DNA damage using formamidopyrimidine DNA-glycosylase (FPG) and endonuclease III (endo III) in a modified comet assay. Individual DNA repair capacity was evaluated with the comet assay after a hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) challenge to examine the difference in DNA damage susceptibility.RESULTS:Analysis of DNA damage, oxidative base damage, susceptibility to DNA damage, and repair capacity revealed no significant difference between the control group and the patients taking anastrozole (p>0.05). Susceptibility to H2O2 damage was observed to increase with age (p<0.05).CONCLUSION:According to the results obtained in this study, anastrozole did not contribute to oxidative DNA damage. An H2O2 challenge with the comet assay is useful to evaluate circumstances of increased vulnerability to damage, such as aging and cancer.

Terfezia claveryi koyu kahve renkli bir trüf mantarı olup, Türkiye'de gıda olarak kullanımı oldukça yaygındır. Bu yüzden, mantarın biyolojik aktivitelerinin ve toksitesinin incelemesi önemli bir husustur. Bu çalışma ile T. claveryi metanol ekstrelerinin antioksidan, anti-üreaz aktivitelerinin araştırılması ve her bir ekstrenin genotoksisitesinin değerlendirilmesi amaçlanmıştır. Yöntemler: Metanol ekstrelerinin antioksidan aktiviteleri 2,2-difenil-1-pikrilhidrazil (DPPH), 2,2'-azinobis-(3-etilbenzotiazolin-6-sulfonik asit) (ABTS) ve demir (III) iyonu indirgeme antioksidan gücü (FRAP) yöntemleri ile incelendi. Ekstrelerin toplam fenolik bileşik içeriği Folin-Ciocalteu reaktifi (FCR) ile tayin edildi. Metanol ekstrelerinin antiüreaz aktiviteleri indofenol yöntemi ile değerlendirildi. Ayrıca, T. claveryi ektrelerinin DNA hasarı üzerindeki etkisi alkali comet tekniği ile insan lenfosit hücrelerinde incelendi. Bulgular: UM ekstresi, MM ekstresinden daha güçlü DPPH radikal süpürücü aktivite gösterdi [radikalin % 50'sinin inhibisyonunu sağlayan madde konsantrasyonu (IC50): 0.77±0.01 mg/mL, 1.17±0.02 mg/mL, sırasıyla p<0.0001]. Fakat her iki ekstrenin standarda göre daha düşük radikal süpürücü aktivite gösterdiği tespit edildi (p<0.0001). Her iki ekstrenin farklı konsantrasyonlarının çözücü DMSO ile kıyaslandığında DNA hasarına yol açtığı (p<0.0001) ve MM ekstresi ile inkübe edilen hücrelerde total comet skorunun yüksek bulunduğu saptandı (p<0.05). UM ekstresi, MM ekstresinden daha yüksek demir (III) iyonu indirgeyici ve anti-üreaz aktivite göstermekle beraber fark istatistiksel anlamlı bulunmadı ve her iki yöntemde de ekstrelerin pozitif kontrollerden daha düşük aktivite gösterdiği saptandı (p<0.0001). Sonuç: T. claveryi metanol ekstreleri lenfositler üzerinde genotoksisiteye neden olmaktadır ve her iki ekstre standartlara göre düşük antioksidan aktivite göstermektedir. Bu ön çalışmanın sonuçlarını ileri çalışmalarda farklı hücre dizilerinde doğrulanması gerekmektedir.