Estudio citogenético de tinción de bandas GTG en angiólogos y cirujanos vasculares expuestos de manera crónica a bajas dosis de radiación ionizante durante procedimientos endovascularesiradient study

Résumé

Background and objectives. The past two decades have witnessed the development and growth of the endovascular techniques, however, this new technology is not exempt from risks, since its use requires an ionizing radiation exposure to both patients and surgeons. In this context, the long-term repercussion of this type of chronic exposure to low dose ionizing radiation of the vascular surgeons is still unknown. Some studies suggest the use of routine cytogenetic analysis to complement the conventional dosimetry, yet the real genomic effects of chronic low dose ionizing radiation exposure is still unclear and an ideal biodosimetry marker hasn’t been described. The present study is part of the Iradient Study (Ionizing RADiation in ENdovascular Treatments) of genomic instability in vascular surgeons (PI-18-967). In this setting, the main goal of the present study was to validate the cytogenetic GTG-banding (G-banding by Trypsin with Giemsa) technique as a biomarker of genomic instability associated to the chronic low dose exposure to ionizing radiation of vascular surgeons. Material and Methods. National, observational and transversal case control study of genomic instability among vascular surgeons chronically exposed to low dose ionizing radiation compared to healthy control patients with no previous history of radiation exposure. The statistical analysis of the categorical variables was performed using the Fisher exact test and the quantitative variables were studies using the Kruskall-Wallis or U de Mann-Whitney tests. Results. 24 subjects from 13 different hospitals were included as cases, and 4 healthy non-exposed subjects were included as controls. There were no meaningful differences in terms age and demographical variables between groups. In the case group the mean exposure duration was 18.93±3.2 years. There was no significant correlation between age and duration of exposure and the presence of aneuploidies in the GTG-banding analysis. In the GTG-banding chromosome study there were no significant differences between groups in terms of the rate of hipodiploid metaphases (controls 27.06±16.00% versus cases 18.80±8.59%, p=0.144), rate of hiperdiploid metaphases (controls 3.58±3.55% versus cass 1.48±2.53%, p=0.082) or rate of structural chromosome aberrations (controls 3.97±3.43% versus cases 10.63±8.89%, p=0.126). Conclusions. Nor the age or the duration of exposure to ionizing radiation were associated with a higher rate of chromosomal aberrations with the GTG-banding study. Also, the type of endovascular activity and the type of surgical room weren’t associated with an increase in the genomic instability in the GTG-banding study. The present results do not allow the validation of the GTG-banding analysis as a biomarker of long term exposure to low dose radiation during endovascular procedures.