Chemotherapy induces genomic instability in oral mucosal cells of women with breast cancer

Objectives: The study of the involvement of non-neoplastic cells with genomic instability has not been sufficiently investigated. Genomic instability induced by treatment chemotherapy with alkylating agents’ employment has been reported in different biological matrices like PBMN, and fpDNA fuDNA. We investigated the possible use of DNA from oral mucosal cells to observe the presence of genomic instability being a simple protocol, applicable and non - invasive. Methods: Genomic instability was determined in oral mucosal cells of 31 women diagnosed with breast cancer before and after chemotherapy with alkylating agents’ presence. MSI was assessed by a panel with five different microsatellite regions. Results: We observed that 77.41% of patients had any genetic alteration in the oral mucosal cells, with a higher number of MSI events by 32.58% compared to LOH events by 24.97%, mainly in the FMR2 (16.29 %) and BAT 26 (13.04%). The control group did not show genomic instability in oral mucosal cells. Conclusions: The oral mucosal cells are susceptible to genomic instability when exposed to chemotherapy regimens containing alkylating agents which allows us a new approach to chemotherapy regimens and their implications and propose a new biological matrix for assessing such adverse effects.