The Dark Side of Platinum Based Cytostatic Drugs: From Detection to Removal

Abstract

The uncontrolled release of pharmaceutical drugs into the environment raised serious concerns in the last decades as they can potentially exert adverse effects on living organisms even at the low concentrations at which they are typically found. Among them, platinum based cytostatic drugs (Pt CDs) are among the most used drugs in cancer treatments which are administered via intravenous infusion and released partially intact or as transformation products. In this review, the studies on environmental occurrence, transformation, potential ecotoxicity, and possible treatment for the removal of platinum cytostatic compounds are revised. The analysis of the literature highlighted the generally low total platinum concentration values (from a few tens of ng L−1 to a few hundred μg L−1) found in hospital effluents. Additionally, several studies highlighted how hospitals are sources of a minor fraction of the total Pt CDs found in the environment due to the slow excretion rate which is longer than the usual treatment durations. Only some data about the impact of the exposure to low levels of Pt CDs on the health of flora and fauna are present in literature. In some cases, adverse effects have been shown to occur in living organisms, even at low concentrations. Further ecotoxicity data are needed to support or exclude their chronic effects on the ecosystem. Finally, fundamental understanding is required on the platinum drugs removal by MBR, AOPs, technologies, and adsorption.

Activity in Group-Housed Home Cages of Mice as a Novel Preclinical Biomarker in Oncology Studies

“…Cisplatin and cyclophosphamide are two alkyl agents which are widely used to treat cancer patients [29,30]. Like most chemotherapeutic agents with anti-neoplastic actions, there are known to have numerous adverse effects including but not limited to nausea, alopecia, or cognitive impairments [31][32][33][34][35]. Throughout the study, no mice were found dead or had to be terminated due to health conditions, confirming the relevance of the dose selection.…”

Anticancer Drugs: Recent Strategies to Improve Stability Profile, Pharmacokinetic and Pharmacodynamic Properties

“…The stability of carboplatin in aqueous solution is more closely related to nucleophiles concentrations and the pH of the medium, and, in all cases, this activation process is slower than that of cisplatin. Oxaliplatin produces reactive species that contaminate groundwater depending on the composition of the aqueous solution [ 94 ].…”

Minimizing the environmental impact of unused pharmaceuticals: Review focused on prevention

“…The detection frequency of anticancer drugs in hospital wastewater is 58% and cisplatin is marked as one of the most hazardous pharmaceuticals (Dan et al, 2021). The presence of cisplatin in waterbodies even at ng/l concentrations can cause toxic effects on aquatic species (Roque-Diaz et al, 2021) The surface water Watch List (WL) includes information about emerging pollutants that can cause a significant risk to aquatic organisms and humans upon consumption of contaminated drinking water. This list contains all the above-mentioned groups of pharmaceuticals (Gomez Cortes et al, 2022).…”