TY - JOUR
T1 - Facing the climate change
T2 - Is radiotherapy as green as we would like? A systematic review
AU - Volpe, Stefania
AU - Mastroleo, Federico
AU - Vincini, Maria Giulia
AU - Zaffaroni, Mattia
AU - Porazzi, Alice
AU - Damiani, Ernesto
AU - Marvaso, Giulia
AU - Jereczek-Fossa, Barbara Alicja
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2024/12
Y1 - 2024/12
N2 - Purpose: To focus on the ecological footprint of radiotherapy (RT), on opportunities for sustainable practices, on future research directions. Methods: Different databases were interrogated using the following terms: Carbon Footprint, Sustainab*, Carbon Dioxide, Radiotherapy, and relative synonyms. Results: 931 records were retrieved; 15 reports were included in the review. Eight main thematic areas have been identified. Nine research works analyzed the environmental impact of photon-based external beam RT. Particle therapy was the subject of one work. Other thematic areas were brachytherapy, intra-operative RT, telemedicine, travel-related issues, and the impact of COVID-19. Conclusion: This review demonstrates the strong interest in identifying novel strategies for a more environmentally friendly RT and serves as a clarion call to unveil the environmental impact of carbon footprints entwined with radiation therapy. Future research should address current gaps to guide the transition towards greener practices, reducing the environmental footprint and maintaining high-quality care.
AB - Purpose: To focus on the ecological footprint of radiotherapy (RT), on opportunities for sustainable practices, on future research directions. Methods: Different databases were interrogated using the following terms: Carbon Footprint, Sustainab*, Carbon Dioxide, Radiotherapy, and relative synonyms. Results: 931 records were retrieved; 15 reports were included in the review. Eight main thematic areas have been identified. Nine research works analyzed the environmental impact of photon-based external beam RT. Particle therapy was the subject of one work. Other thematic areas were brachytherapy, intra-operative RT, telemedicine, travel-related issues, and the impact of COVID-19. Conclusion: This review demonstrates the strong interest in identifying novel strategies for a more environmentally friendly RT and serves as a clarion call to unveil the environmental impact of carbon footprints entwined with radiation therapy. Future research should address current gaps to guide the transition towards greener practices, reducing the environmental footprint and maintaining high-quality care.
KW - Carbon footprint
KW - Radiation therapy
KW - Review
KW - Sustainability
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85204369823&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.critrevonc.2024.104500
DO - 10.1016/j.critrevonc.2024.104500
M3 - Review article
C2 - 39245297
AN - SCOPUS:85204369823
SN - 1040-8428
VL - 204
JO - Critical Reviews in Oncology/Hematology
JF - Critical Reviews in Oncology/Hematology
M1 - 104500
ER -
