IMPRINT study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Initial study to coMpare the carbon footPRINT, patient experience and resources of standard and hypofractionated radiotherapy
IRAS ID
341784
Contact name
Robert Chuter
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
The Christie NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 5 months, 1 days
Research summary
Climate change is a health issue which has been recognised by the NHS, which aims to be net zero by 2040. Radiotherapy has a high environmental impact due to (a) treating about 120,000 UK cancer patients per year (50% of all cancer patients), (b) using linear accelerators to treat patients with high energy radiation and (c) high numbers of visits per patient (typically 15-30). Recent clinical trials show that shorter courses of radiotherapy (delivered over 3-5 visits) are as effective as standard courses (15-30 visits) for tumour control and toxicity in many patient groups. This approach, “hypofractionation”, may significantly reduce the carbon footprint of radiotherapy, since patient travel forms about 70% of this footprint. In addition, hypofractionation is likely to: (a) reduce each patient’s travel time to a radiotherapy centre increasing the likelihood of patients receiving a full course of radiotherapy, especially for more deprived groups, (b) greater acceptability to patients, and (c) free up staff and equipment resources to potentially redirect towards the backlog of cancer cases. The present study aims to assess the feasibility of quantifying these anticipated key benefits, i.e. carbon footprint, acceptability to patients and key decision makers, and use of staff and resources.
REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - Leeds West Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
24/YH/0264
Date of REC Opinion
19 Dec 2024
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion