P094 The environmental burden of melanoma in the UK: a stage-specific carbon footprint analysis

Abstract

Healthcare delivery contributes substantially to climate change, accounting for approximately 4–5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Melanoma is a fatal cancer with rising incidence in the UK, where advanced-stage disease is associated with significant morbidity and mortality and escalating healthcare costs. While the clinical and economic burden of melanoma increases markedly with advancing stage at diagnosis, its environmental impact remains unquantified. The NHS has committed to achieve net zero emissions by 2040. Therefore, estimating the stage-specific carbon footprint of melanoma care provides critical evidence to show that prevention and early detection can reduce the clinical harm, healthcare costs and environmental burden of cancer care, supporting the delivery of sustainable healthcare systems. Our aim was to estimate the stage-specific carbon footprint of melanoma care. Using published 2023 UK data on stage-specific melanoma costs and NHS reference costs, average healthcare costs for each stage of melanoma treatment were calculated. These costs were converted to estimated carbon emissions for each stage by applying a standard UK healthcare carbon intensity factor derived from environmentally extended input–output analysis. In 2023, average treatment costs for stage I, II, III and IV melanoma were £9512, £77 813, £179 274 and £213 801, respectively. Estimated carbon emissions rose sharply with advancing stage, from around 1482 kgCO₂e for stage I to around 33 310 kgCO₂e for stage IV, representing a difference of approximately 31 828 kgCO₂e and a 22.5-fold increase. This study provides the first UK stage-specific estimates of the carbon footprint of melanoma care, demonstrating exponential increases in emissions with advancing stage and the disproportionate environmental burden of late-stage disease. These findings underscore the urgent value of prevention, early detection and timely intervention to maximize clinical benefit while reducing healthcare costs and carbon emissions. We emphasize the importance of incorporating environmental impact alongside economic and clinical outcomes to guide more sustainable cancer care in line with the NHS net zero commitment.