Cardiotoxicity Associated with Anti-CD19 Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-Cell (CAR-T) Therapy: Recognition, Risk Factors, and Management

Chimeric antigen receptor T-cells (CAR-T) are improving outcomes in pediatric and adult patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemias and subtypes of non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. As this treatment is being increasingly utilized, a better understanding of the unique toxicities associated with this therapy is warranted. While there is growing knowledge on the diagnosis and treatment of cytokine release syndrome (CRS), relatively little is known about the associated cardiac events that occur with CRS that may result in prolonged length of hospital stay, admission to the intensive care unit for pressor support, or cardiac death. This review focuses on the various manifestations of cardiotoxicity, potential risk factors, real world and clinical trial data on prevalence of reported cardiotoxicity events, and treatment recommendations.

Automated summary

CAR-T therapy has shown promising outcomes in pediatric and adult patients with leukemia and lymphoma, but the associated cardiac toxicities remain a challenging issue that requires further attention.