Quality of life and symptom burden among hematologic malignancy patients undergoing CAR-T therapy: a cross-sectional study

Few studies have thoroughly evaluated the symptom burden and quality of life (QOL) among patients diagnosed with hematologic malignancies who underwent chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy. In total, 97 eligible patients completed the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy generic scale (FACT-G) at week 4 after CAR-T cell infusion. We used the Common Terminology Criteria Adverse Events (CTCAE) to measure symptom burden of CAR-T patients during the same period. We studied factors associated with QOL using liner regression analysis. During the period of hospitalization after CAR-T treatment, the prevalence of self-reported symptoms among CAR-T patients was highest for fatigue (89.7%), followed by sleep disorders (79.4%) and decreased appetite (66.0%). And the mean score of FACT-G was 69.06 (SD = 13.88). Liner regression analysis showed that decreased appetite (β = -0.30, 95% CI = -7.48 to -1.83, P = 0.002), fatigue (β = -0.28, 95% CI = -7.23- -1.69, P = 0.002), nausea (β = -0.26, 95% CI = -10.50 to -2.16, P = 0.003) and a history of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) (β = -0.21, 95% CI = -13.38- -1.56, P = 0.014) were associated with poorer quality of life. The symptom burden experienced by patients undergoing CAR-T treatment is substantial during their hospitalization, and it is closely associated with a diminished quality of life. It is imperative for clinical medical staff to be attentive to the symptom burden of CAR-T patients and to enhance the effectiveness of symptom management interventions.