Outpatient Administration of Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-Cell Therapy Using Remote Patient Monitoring

Abstract

Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapies are standard of care for the treatment of several hematologic malignancies. Although patients receiving CAR-T therapies are frequently hospitalized given risks of cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS), there is increasing interest and evidence for the safety of their outpatient administration. We review various models of care and provide operational considerations for centers that are interested in developing outpatient CAR-T programs, with a particular emphasis on using remote patient monitoring (RPM) to facilitate outpatient care. Safe and high-quality outpatient care requires involvement of a multidisciplinary team with clinical pathways for rapid triage and evaluation for CRS and ICANS and their management and, if necessary, timely transition of patients to a higher level of acute care. RPM can facilitate scaling an outpatient program in a cost-effective manner, especially across multiple sites of care, and can reduce the time patients spend in an acute care setting. Overall minimizing hospital-based care and an outpatient approach can alleviate capacity challenges treatment centers have faced that have partly impacted access to CAR-T therapies and have the potential to positively impact patient and caregiver experience and quality of life.