The impact of genetic polymorphism for detecting genotoxicity in workers occupationally exposed to formaldehyde: A systematic review

Formaldehyde is a chemical compound capable of preserving cells and tissue morphology, being extensively used worldwide in industrial and medical processes. However, due to the many biological effects that take place after an individual is chronically exposed to formaldehyde, this compound poses a greater cancer risk for workers under its occupational exposure, even at lower concentrations. Thus, the present systematic review aimed to understand whether there may be a positive relation between polymorphism (in terms of individual susceptibility) and genotoxicity in individuals occupationally exposed to formaldehyde. For this purpose, a total of eight selected studies were carefully analyzed by two reviewers, who attributed scores to each study according to the used analysis parameters. First, all studies investigated either pathologists under formaldehyde exposure or anatomical laboratory pathology workers. In addition, the majority of studies were categorized as moderate or strong in the quality assessment. The results revealed a positive association between some polymorphism and genotoxicity in individuals exposed to formaldehyde, since more than half of the studies observed positive relations between genotoxicity and polymorphisms in xenobiotics metabolizing genes. We understand such parameters influence individuals' susceptibility to genomic damage induced by formaldehyde in peripheral blood. In conclusion, individuals with certain genotypes may show higher or lower DNA damage and/or lower or higher DNA repair potential.