According to the World Health Organisation, between now and 2020, the cancer rate will rise by 50%, producing 15 million new cases a year worldwide.1 As the number of cancer patients rises, so does the use of chemotherapy treatments using cytostatic drugs. While effective in treating disease, these drugs are also potentially hazardous for the oncology nurses, pharmacists and other healthcare professionals who handle them.
There is a wide range of potential effects on those exposed to cytostatic drugs. The toxicity affects not only tumour cells but also healthy cells, therefore cytostatic drugs pose a quite specific occupational risk to healthcare workers. Yet research indicates that insufficient care is being taken with cytostatic agents.
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