Transitioning to Environmentally Sustainable, Climate-Smart Radiation Oncology Care

Estimating Carbon Dioxide Emissions and Direct Power Consumption of Linear Accelerator–Based External Beam Radiation Therapy

“…Recent calls to action to physicians, especially to oncologists, have suggested strategies to minimize waste, advocate for partnership in more efficient machines and materials, and perform life-cycle analyses (LCAs) of radiation oncology supplies. 13 Although our study did not aim to report complete carbon footprint of EBRT, we provide new information regarding the carbon emissions of the energy used by a LINAC during treatment. Furthermore, An LCA would be necessary to report the true carbon footprint.…”

Energy use in moderate hypofractionation and stereotactic body radiotherapy for prostate cancer

“…There are little data regarding energy expenditure in radiation oncology. There has been a call to action for climate-smart decisions in radiation oncology [1,3]. In this study, we evaluated the energy expenditure of patients with prostate cancer undergoing definitive RT with moderate hypofractionation (HF) and stereotactic body RT (SBRT).…”

“…The environmental impact of RT is unknown. To encourage climate-smart radiation oncology care, a framework was proposed to address the environmental impact of radiation oncology: reduce, reuse, recycle, and re-think [3]. Our study compares energy expenditure for two commonly utilised RT treatment options for prostate cancer, one of the most common indications for RT.…”

“…There were nearly 2 million anticipated new cancer diagnoses in the United States, 17 million new cases of cancer worldwide, and nearly 10 million associated deaths in 2017 [2]. The intricate relationship between climate change and oncology spans from environmental risk factors for cancer to requirements for sustainable cancer prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship programs [3]. Radiotherapy (RT) is a critical component of cancer care, with approximately 50% of patients requiring RT [4].…”

A perspective on in person scientific meetings

“…For example, carcinogen exposure is anticipated to increase as forest fires and floods release carcinogens into the atmosphere and food chain and extreme weather events threaten food security impacting important determinants of health. [10] , [11] Similarly, climate related stressors on the health care systems are certain to impact the delivery of cancer care at every level from prevention and screening, to diagnosis and treatment, to survivorship care.Lichter et al, 2022–08;113 [12]:915. …”