For adults with hematologic malignancies receiving chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy,
QOL deteriorates and physical and psychological symptoms worsen 1 week after infusion and then improve by
6 months post-infusion, according to a study published in Blood Advances. Patrick Connor Johnson, MD, and
colleagues examined QOL, psychological distress, and physical symptoms at baseline, 1 week, 1 month, 3 months,
and 6 months after CAR-T infusion among adults with hematologic malignancies. A total of 100 patients were
enrolled between April 2019 and November 2021. By 1 week, there was a worsening in QOL and depression
symptoms, followed by improvement by 6 months after CAR-T therapy. Clinically significant depression, anxiety,
and PTSD symptoms were reported by 18%, 22%, and 22% of patients, respectively, at 6 months. Fifty-two
percent of patients noted severe physical symptoms at 1 week, which declined to 28% at 6 months post-CAR-T
therapy. In unadjusted models, associations with a higher QOL trajectory were seen for worse ECOG performance,
receipt of tocilizumab, and receipt of corticosteroids for cytokine release syndrome and/or immune effector
cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome.
