{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,2]],"date-time":"2026-10-02T20:14:34Z","timestamp":1790972074241,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":34,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"14","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,16]],"date-time":"2026-07-16T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1784160000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Cancers"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: Population aging has increased the incidence of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in older adults, who often receive suboptimal treatment. Geriatric assessment is a key tool to evaluate frailty and guide therapeutic decisions. CAR T-cell therapy is effective but associated with significant toxicities, including cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS), which may be more severe in older patients. This study evaluated the role of geriatric assessments in patients aged 70 years and older referred for CAR T-cell therapy, focusing on patient profiles, treatment-related toxicities and clinical outcomes. Methods: This retrospective descriptive study included all patients aged 70 years and older for whom CAR T-cell therapy was considered at our institution between 15 December 2022 and 31 January 2026. Data were collected through medical record review. Descriptive and exploratory statistical analyses were performed. Results: A total of 43 patients aged 70 years or older with a diagnosis of refractory non-Hodgkin lymphoma underwent geriatric assessment prior to CAR T-cell therapy (median age: 73 years; 58% male). Most patients lived at home (98%), often with a cohabiting partner (65%). Polypharmacy (72%), mobility impairment (19%) and cognitive impairment (49%) were prevalent among our study population. Among the evaluated patients, CAR T-cell therapy was recommended in 35 cases, of whom 27 subsequently received treatment. In total, 85% developed CRS and 59% developed ICANS. ICANS occurred slightly more frequently in patients with pre-existing neurocognitive impairment (7 out of 11, 64%), compared with 9 out of 16 (56%) among those without cognitive impairment. The median length of hospitalization was 16 days. Mean overall survival post CAR T-cell therapy reached 324 days as of 31 January 2026 (median 277 days). Patients who were not recommended for CAR T-cell therapy exhibited a markedly higher burden of frailty compared with those who were and most of these vulnerabilities had not been identified before the geriatric evaluation. Conclusions: This study highlights the importance of oncogeriatric assessment in the context of CAR T-cell therapy to personalize treatment strategies according to patients\u2019 frailty profiles. It may help optimize the care plan, potentially identifying patients most likely to benefit from therapy, while minimizing treatment-related toxicities. It also helps estimate the risk of treatment-related toxicities and facilitates the identification of previously unrecognized vulnerabilities.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/cancers18142289","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,16]],"date-time":"2026-07-16T08:08:34Z","timestamp":1784189314000},"page":"2289","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Geriatric Assessment in Patients Aged 70 Years and Older Considered for CAR T-Cell Therapy: A Retrospective Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"18","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0004-6325-0979","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Anthony","family":"Tremblay","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"VITAM\u2014Centre de Recherche en Sant\u00e9 Durable, Qu\u00e9bec, QC G1J 2G1, Canada"},{"name":"Centre de Recherche du CHU de Qu\u00e9bec-Universit\u00e9 Laval, Qu\u00e9bec, QC G1S 4L8, Canada"},{"name":"Facult\u00e9 de M\u00e9decine, Pavillon Ferdinand-Vandry, Universit\u00e9 Laval, Qu\u00e9bec, QC G1V 0A6, Canada"},{"name":"D\u00e9partement de M\u00e9decine, CHU de Qu\u00e9bec, Qu\u00e9bec, QC G1S 4L8, Canada"},{"name":"D\u00e9partement de M\u00e9decine Sp\u00e9cialis\u00e9e, CIUSSS de la Capitale-Nationale, Qu\u00e9bec, QC G1S 4L8, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Rachel","family":"Boisvert","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Facult\u00e9 de M\u00e9decine, Pavillon Ferdinand-Vandry, Universit\u00e9 Laval, Qu\u00e9bec, QC G1V 0A6, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Manon","family":"Chevalier","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Facult\u00e9 de M\u00e9decine, Pavillon Ferdinand-Vandry, Universit\u00e9 Laval, Qu\u00e9bec, QC G1V 0A6, Canada"},{"name":"D\u00e9partement de M\u00e9decine, CHU de Qu\u00e9bec, Qu\u00e9bec, QC G1S 4L8, Canada"},{"name":"D\u00e9partement de M\u00e9decine Sp\u00e9cialis\u00e9e, CIUSSS de la Capitale-Nationale, Qu\u00e9bec, QC G1S 4L8, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"No\u00e9mie","family":"Roux-Dubois","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre de Recherche du CHU de Qu\u00e9bec-Universit\u00e9 Laval, Qu\u00e9bec, QC G1S 4L8, Canada"},{"name":"Facult\u00e9 de M\u00e9decine, Pavillon Ferdinand-Vandry, Universit\u00e9 Laval, Qu\u00e9bec, QC G1V 0A6, Canada"},{"name":"D\u00e9partement de M\u00e9decine, CHU de Qu\u00e9bec, Qu\u00e9bec, QC G1S 4L8, Canada"},{"name":"D\u00e9partement de M\u00e9decine Sp\u00e9cialis\u00e9e, CIUSSS de la Capitale-Nationale, Qu\u00e9bec, QC G1S 4L8, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nathalie","family":"Lambert-Perreault","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Direction du Programme Soutien \u00e0 l\u2019Autonomie des Personnes \u00c2g\u00e9es, CIUSSS de la Capitale-Nationale, Qu\u00e9bec, QC G1S 4L8, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Caroline","family":"Malenfant","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Direction M\u00e9dicale et des Services Professionnels, CIUSSS de la Capitale-Nationale, Qu\u00e9bec, QC G1S 4L8, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Pierre-Hugues","family":"Carmichael","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre d\u2019Excellence sur le Vieillissement de Qu\u00e9bec (CEVQ), Qu\u00e9bec, QC G1S 4L8, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jean-Philippe","family":"\u00c9mond","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre de Recherche du CHU de Qu\u00e9bec-Universit\u00e9 Laval, Qu\u00e9bec, QC G1S 4L8, Canada"},{"name":"Facult\u00e9 de M\u00e9decine, Pavillon Ferdinand-Vandry, Universit\u00e9 Laval, Qu\u00e9bec, QC G1V 0A6, Canada"},{"name":"D\u00e9partement de M\u00e9decine, CHU de Qu\u00e9bec, Qu\u00e9bec, QC G1S 4L8, Canada"},{"name":"D\u00e9partement de M\u00e9decine Sp\u00e9cialis\u00e9e, CIUSSS de la Capitale-Nationale, Qu\u00e9bec, QC G1S 4L8, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Christine","family":"Dionne","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"VITAM\u2014Centre de Recherche en Sant\u00e9 Durable, Qu\u00e9bec, QC G1J 2G1, Canada"},{"name":"Centre de Recherche du CHU de Qu\u00e9bec-Universit\u00e9 Laval, Qu\u00e9bec, QC G1S 4L8, Canada"},{"name":"Facult\u00e9 de M\u00e9decine, Pavillon Ferdinand-Vandry, Universit\u00e9 Laval, Qu\u00e9bec, QC G1V 0A6, Canada"},{"name":"D\u00e9partement de M\u00e9decine, CHU de Qu\u00e9bec, Qu\u00e9bec, QC G1S 4L8, Canada"},{"name":"D\u00e9partement de M\u00e9decine Sp\u00e9cialis\u00e9e, CIUSSS de la Capitale-Nationale, Qu\u00e9bec, QC G1S 4L8, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,16]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"S3","DOI":"10.1002\/ajh.25418","article-title":"An introduction to chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell immunotherapy for human cancer","volume":"94","author":"Feins","year":"2019","journal-title":"Am. 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