A Preliminary Study on DNA Damage in Peripheral Blood of Medical Personnel Occupationally Exposed to Ionizing Radiation Using Comet Assay

The aim of this study is to estimate DNA strand breaks in lymphocytes of peripheral blood of medical
personnel that occupationally exposed and unexposed to radiation. Methods: The exposed group consisted of 29
volunteers and the control group consisted of 4 volunteers. Samples consisting of 3 ml whole blood were collected by
venepuncture. DNA damage in lymphocytes was detected by alkaline comet assay. The frequency of DNA damaged cells
were evaluated by counting a total number of 50 cells per slide and determining DNA damage. The measurements of
comets parameter for determining DNA damage was done using the semi-automatic software CASP. The results showed
that value of the tail length, tail DNA, and the tail moment of medical workers exposed to radiation are higher than that
of the control group but not significant. The similar results were also found based on gender consideration where female respondense were higher that of male but not significant. The conclusion that occupational exposure to ionizing radiation leads to an enhanced level of DNA damage in peripheral blood lymphocytes of nuclear medicine employees. This preliminary study results show that the comet assay can be used to detect DNA damage in radiation workers for the continuous efforts made in maintaining health and safety in the use of ionizing radiation. Further research needed to optimized established the method to be used as a biomarker of molecular biology in the study of radiation effects.