Applicability of the comet assay in evaluation of DNA damage in healthcare providers’ working with antineoplastic drugs: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Unintended occupational exposure to antineoplastic drugs (ANDs) may occur in medical personnel. Some ANDs are known human carcinogens and exposure can be monitored by genotoxic biomarkers.Objective: To evaluate the obstacles to obtaining conclusive results from a comet assay test to determine DNA damage among AND exposed healthcare workers.Methods: We systematically reviewed studies that used alkaline comet assay to determine the magnitude and significance of DNA damage among health care workers with potential AND exposure. Fifteen studies were eligible for review and 14 studies were used in the meta-analysis.Results: Under random effect assumption, the estimated standardized mean difference (SMD) in the DNA damage of health care workers was 1.93 (95% CI: 1.15–2.71, p < 0.0001). The resulting SMD was reduced to 1.756 (95% CI: 0.992–2.52, p < 0.0001) when the analysis only included nurses. In subgroup analyses based on gender and smoking, heterogeneity was observed. Only for studies reporting c...