Longitudinal psychosocial burden, quality of life, and digital supportive care preferences before and after CAR T-cell therapy: a prospective single-center observational study

@article{fleischer2026longitudinal,
  title = {{Longitudinal psychosocial burden, quality of life, and digital supportive care preferences before and after CAR T-cell therapy: a prospective single-center observational study}},
  author = {Anna Fleischer and Sabine-Anna Bergert and Patrick-Pascal Strunz and Barbara Huber and Nadine Schassberger and Miriam Benz and Elisabeth Jentschke and Florian Eisele and Yoko Tamamushi and Hermann Einsele and Leo Rasche and Michael Hudecek and Johannes Duell and Max Topp and Imad Maatouk},
  journal = {BMC Cancer},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.1186/s12885-026-17245-y},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1186/s12885-026-17245-y},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}

TY  - JOUR
TI  - Longitudinal psychosocial burden, quality of life, and digital supportive care preferences before and after CAR T-cell therapy: a prospective single-center observational study
AU  - Anna Fleischer
AU  - Sabine-Anna Bergert
AU  - Patrick-Pascal Strunz
AU  - Barbara Huber
AU  - Nadine Schassberger
AU  - Miriam Benz
AU  - Elisabeth Jentschke
AU  - Florian Eisele
AU  - Yoko Tamamushi
AU  - Hermann Einsele
AU  - Leo Rasche
AU  - Michael Hudecek
AU  - Johannes Duell
AU  - Max Topp
AU  - Imad Maatouk
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/27
JO  - BMC Cancer
DO  - 10.1186/s12885-026-17245-y
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1186/s12885-026-17245-y
AB  - Background: Prospective studies of CAR T-cell therapy have described changes in patient-reported outcomes, but these are rarely examined alongside supportive care preferences and patients’ own accounts. We examined these components together across the treatment course.  Methods: This prospective single-center study included adults scheduled for CAR T-cell therapy at a German tertiary hospital. Of 52 patients in the screening/recruitment log, 32 who completed at least three of four assessments formed the longitudinal cohort. Assessments occurred before treatment (T0), during post-infusion hospitalization (T1), at or around discharge (T2), and seven to eight weeks after discharge (T3). Standardized measures assessed quality of life, anxiety/depression, loneliness, fear of progression, somatic symptoms, and social support. Unadjusted generalized estimating equations examined longitudinal change; supportive care items were summarized descriptively and open-ended responses analyzed thematically.  Results: The cohort included 17 male and 15 female participants; median age was 61.0 years (IQR 53.0-65.5), and 23/32 (71.9%) had multiple myeloma. Global health status/quality of life showed an overall time effect (p = 0.001), with the lowest mean at T2 and recovery by T3. Physical functioning was nominally lower at T2 (β = -14.450, p = 0.046); fatigue was nominally higher at T1 and T2 (β = 11.990, p = 0.015; β = 15.574, p = 0.008), and the QLQ-C30 summary score lower at T1 and T2 (β = -7.772, p = 0.006; β = -6.954, p = 0.035). Loneliness was nominally higher at T1 (β = 0.795, p = 0.009), whereas PHQ-4 scores changed little. Across timepoints, 60.0% to 70.0% considered post-discharge psycho-oncological support useful and 66.7% to 79.3% considered peer contact useful. Five themes concerned treatment uncertainty, physical decline, multidimensional support needs, accessible individualized digital support, and incomplete treatment understanding.  Conclusions: Patient-reported physical and functional burden was greatest during hospitalization and around discharge and improved by seven to eight weeks after discharge. Brief anxiety/depression scores captured only part of participants’ support needs. The findings can inform co-design and prospective evaluation of longitudinal supportive care approaches without establishing intervention effectiveness.  Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1186/s12885-026-17245-y.
SN  - 1471-2407
ER  -