Occurrence, fate and determination of cytostatic pharmaceuticals in the environment

We review the literature on the analysis of pharmaceutically-derived cytostatic compounds in the environment. Cytostatics are a major class of chemotherapy drugs used extensively in the fight against cancer. They are a broad group of mostly organic compounds possessing a diverse range of physico-chemical parameters. Their differences and their presence in the environment in trace amounts make their determination in complex matrices a major challenge. Despite the good scientific foundations laid by those in the field, it is apparent that past research has focused mainly on hospital effluents and few have analyzed environmental samples. Importantly, no study has looked at environmental transformation products that, along with human metabolites, could contribute to overall toxicity. To improve understanding of the chemodynamics of cytostatics in natural waters, it is essential to have more data on the occurrence and the fate of these compounds, including their human metabolites and environmental transformation products. This approach will require advanced sampling techniques and state-of-the-art analytical tools, including the latest separation methods and cutting-edge instrumentation.