Improving patient outcomes through a digital health delivered intervention to monitor and manage symptoms after chimeric antigen receptor t-cell therapy

The National Cancer Institute awarded MCC Health, Inc. $201,112 on September 1, 2026, under the Cancer Cause and Prevention Research program (CFDA 93.393) to develop, refine, and test a digital health intervention for monitoring and managing symptoms in patients receiving chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy.

The project, titled MCC-CAR-T, addresses substantial post-discharge toxicities and symptom burden among CAR-T recipients during the acute recovery period (first 90 days). Over 60 percent of CAR-T patients experience neurotoxicity and cytokine release syndrome; 96 percent report severe fatigue, 85 percent severe muscle aching, and 26–41 percent clinically significant depression and anxiety. Approximately 30 percent are re-hospitalized within 90 days due to poor symptom control. The intervention incorporates psycho-education to normalize symptoms and clarify illness expectations, combined with electronic symptom monitoring and clinical alerts to the health care team. The project will create the MCC-CAR-T software application, refine it through an open study, and test feasibility and acceptability to improve patient-reported symptoms, self-efficacy, and quality of life.

Work is performed in New York, NY 10038. The period of performance runs from September 1, 2026, through August 31, 2028.

Abstract

Overview: the goal of this project is to develop, refine and test the feasibility and acceptability of a symptom monitoring and management digital intervention (MCC-car-t) for improving patient-reported symptoms, self- efficacy, and quality of life (QOL) among patients treated with chimeric antigen receptor-t (car-t) cell therapy. Background: car-t has dramatically improved survival among patients with hematological diseases and is increasingly administered. Nevertheless, car-t entails substantial toxicities. Over 60% of patients present neurotoxicity and the cytokine release syndrome, which manifests with fever, myalgias and altered mental status. Infections, gastrointestinal and neurological effects are also common. Besides, 96% of patients report severe fatigue, 85% severe aching muscles, and 26-41% clinically significant depression and anxiety symptoms. Upon discharge, around 30% of patients are RE-hospitalized within the first 90 days due to poor symptom control. Randomized controlled trials (RCT) have shown that interventions to electronically monitor and manage patient- reported symptoms are associated with decreased symptom burden as well as improved self-efficacy, QOL and survival. Nevertheless, these interventions have not been tested in car-t. Thus, we will create a digital intervention (MCC-car-t) specifically focused on monitoring and managing common symptoms often experienced by car-t recipients upon discharge and acute recovery (i.e., first 90 days). Research plan: the MCC-car-t intervention consists of psycho-education to normalize symptoms, clarify illness expectations and empower patients to address symptoms, as well as symptom monitoring, with clinical alerts to the health care team. We now propose to 1) create the MCC-car-t software application and refine IT in an open study with feedback from stakeholders, including 15 patients and 10 clinicians, and 2) assess the feasibility and acceptability of MCC-car-t in patients receiving car-t (n=30) and their clinicians (n=10). Environment: this project results of the collaboration between my care compass health, INC (MCC) a leading software development company with extensive experience working with digital interventions and the massachusetts general hospital, an internationally known center for car-t. We have built a nationally recognized team of investigators specialized in supportive care studies, including digital health interventions, as well as in car-t treatment. Relevance of research: a self-administered digital intervention offers an innovative approach to optimize car-t outcomes, enhance patient-centered care, and be commercialized and widely disseminated among the growing population of cart survivors.