Northrup, Benjamin E.; Hanneman, Kate A.; Lichter, Katie E.; Rockall, Andrea G.; Zigmund, Beth; D’Anna, Gennaro; Zhang, Zhuoli; Osborne, Joseph R.; Silva, Genevieve S.; Waeldner, Kathleen; Omary, Reed A. (2025 Radiology: Imaging Cancer, 7(6), e250054.
As climate change becomes more serious, it鈥檚 important to consider how healthcare, including cancer care, affects the environment. Imaging tests and image-guided procedures鈥攕uch as CT scans, MRIs, and targeted treatments鈥攑lay a major role in diagnosing and managing cancer. These technologies have improved patient outcomes, but they also produce carbon emissions and medical waste. This review looks at how cancer imaging and related treatments impact the environment, discusses what sustainable cancer care could look like, and suggests practical ways to reduce the environmental footprint of cancer care while continuing to provide high-quality treatment.
Figure 1:聽Sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in cancer imaging categorized by scope. Scope 1 includes direct emissions, those from sources that an organization owns or controls directly. Scope 2 includes indirect emissions, those that come from where an organization鈥檚 energy is produced. Scope 3 includes all sources not covered in scope 1 or 2, including those created by an organization鈥檚 value chain.