Transfusion support after CAR-T cell therapy: Real-world patterns across commercial products and disease groups - 05/08/26

Highlights |
• | In 102 CAR-T recipients, median RBC and platelet use was zero in nearly all groups. |
• | Transfusions peaked in the first 30 days and declined thereafter. |
• | Apparent product differences reflected a minority of high-need patients. |
• | Higher platelet needs in PCD/MM vs. NHL/ALL patients were hypothesis-generating. |
• | No new RBC alloantibodies were detected on routine clinical screening. |
Abstract |
Background |
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy is frequently complicated by prolonged cytopenias requiring transfusion. Comparative real-world data on transfusion burden across commercial CAR-T products and post-therapy alloimmunization risk remain limited.
Methods |
We retrospectively reviewed 102 patients treated with idecabtagene vicleucel (Abecma), ciltacabtagene autoleucel (Carvykti), lisocabtagene maraleucel (Breyanzi), axicabtagene ciloleucel (Yescarta), or brexucabtagene autoleucel (Tecartus) at a single center. Red blood cell (RBC) and platelet transfusions were quantified over 0–30, 30–90, and 90–180 days post-infusion. Kruskal–Wallis tests and negative binomial regression with disease-stratified interpretation were used to estimate incidence rate ratios with 95% confidence intervals. Alloimmunization was assessed through routine, clinically driven antibody screening.
Results |
Adjusted exploratory models detected no product-specific differences in RBC support. Platelet transfusion distributions varied by product and disease group, but these findings were based on small absolute counts and were driven by a minority of high-need patients; therefore, they should be interpreted as hypothesis-generating rather than definitive product-level differences. No new RBC alloantibodies were detected through routine clinical antibody screening.
Conclusion |
Transfusion needs after CAR-T therapy were concentrated in the first 30 days and were modest overall, with most patients transfusion-free thereafter. This real-world descriptive analysis helps fill a current gap in understanding transfusion-support patterns across commercial CAR-T products and disease groups. Apparent product- and disease-related differences were driven by a minority of high-need patients and should be considered hypothesis-generating. No new RBC alloantibodies were detected through routine clinical screening, although standardized antibody surveillance was not performed.
Le texte complet de cet article est disponible en PDF.Keywords : CAR T-cell therapy, Blood component transfusion, Red blood cell transfusion, Platelet transfusion, Red cell alloimmunization, Hematologic toxicity
Plan
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