3717 - Carbon FootPrint Reduction with the Adoption of Hypofractionated Radiation Therapy in a Latin America Public Health Facility

J. Regis Neto¹, T. Y. T. De Souza², and M. A. Regis³; ¹Assistential Foundation from Paraiba, Campina Grande, Brazil, ²McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, QC, Canada, ³Sao Paulo University, Sao Paulo, Brazil

Purpose/Objective(s): Climate change is increasingly becoming more apparent through a variety of weather events, including severe flooding, wildfire and heatwaves. It has also been suggested by many trials that climate change may increase the risks of lung, gastro-intestinal and breast cancers, through exposure to air pollution.A Carbon Footprint Analysis is a technique for evaluating the environmental impact of a system or process by estimating the amount of greenhouse gasses (GHGs) it produces. The biggest contributor to the external beam radiation therapy( RT) carbon footprint is patient travel, which may motivate physicians to increase the use of hypofractionation. We aimed to quantify the reduction of carbon footprint with the adoption of hypofractionated Radiation therapy treatments for patients with prostate cancer in a Brazilian public health facility. Materials/

Methods: Data from 72 patients with confirmed PCa, eligible for hypofractionated RT, were collected. A process-based approach was used to calculate the carbon footprint using variables like patient and health care team daily travel distance, LINAC idle power , PPE and SF6 leakage. We performed a comparative statistical analysis with the amount of KgCO² released by each patient e in both scenarios, conventional and hypofractionated RT schemes.
Results: The mean calculated carbon footprint for a full hypofractionated RT treatment for PCa was 272 KgC0²e. In the scenario that the same patients would receive conventional treatments, the mean carbon footprint would be 380KgCO²e/treatment, demonstrating a representative reduction of 39,1%. Patients travel routine to the RT facility represented the greatest variable that led to this shortage, with a mean reduction of 1.103,3 Km traveled/treatment with the adoption of hypofractionated schemes .
Conclusion: The adoption of hypofractionated treatments schemes for patients with PCa may lead to an exponential reduction in the Carbon Footprints totality originated in a Radiation therapy unit, becoming a substantial and tangible initiative to mitigate the global warming contribution by the oncologic industry.