Developing environmentally sustainable melanoma care v1.0
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Developing environmentally sustainable cancer care from patients’ perspectives: a qualitative research study based on melanoma care
IRAS ID
361360
Contact name
Sarah Briggs
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Oxford / Research, Governance, Ethics and Assurance
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 11 months, 23 days
Research summary
Healthcare has a big effect on the environment. The NHS makes about 5% of all the UK’s carbon emissions (the gases which cause climate change), but is trying to reduce this. This project aims to develop cancer care that provides the best care and support for patients, with a lower impact on the environment. It will explore what cancer patients think about developing their care to have a lower impact on the environment, focusing on melanoma, a type of skin cancer. Melanoma cases are likely to increase due to climate change. Encouragingly, there have also been many new treatments developed over the past 15 years for melanoma.
The project aims to answer four questions:
1) Based on patients' perspectives, what are the opportunities for improving sustainable cancer care, and what social and ethical issues might result from this?
2) Do patients want to be part of decisions about how environmentally sustainable cancer care is developed by the NHS, and if so, how?
3) Do the answers to these questions mean that doctors and nurses or the people who run the NHS should do things differently?
4) What areas should we focus on in future research?We will interview patients with melanoma to understand their views. Participants will be recruited through the MyMelanoma study. The findings from interviews will be shared with people – including patients – who are involved in decisions about how cancer care is provided by the NHS. Together, this group will make recommendations for people who run the NHS and for politicians on how to develop more environmentally sustainable ways of providing cancer care while still giving patients treatments they need.
The study is funded by the Academy of Medical Sciences.
REC name
London - Surrey Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
26/PR/0403
Date of REC Opinion
8 May 2026
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion