Additional common side effects of CAR T cell therapy

Side effects vary from person to person and can be mild to severe or cause death. The most common side effects of CAR T cell therapy include:

  • Fatigue
  • Difficulty breathing
  • Fever (100.4°F/38°C or higher)
  • Chills/shaking chills
  • Confusion
  • Difficulty speaking or slurred speech
  • Severe nausea, vomiting, diarrhea
  • Headache
  • Dizziness/lightheadedness
  • Fast or irregular heartbeat
  • Swelling
  • Low white blood cells (can occur with a fever)
  • Low red blood cells
  • Severe muscle or joint pain
  • Low blood pressure

Deaths have been reported in clinical trials of CAR T cell therapies.

  • Talk to your healthcare team about any side effects.

  • Symptom tracking and side effect monitoring can be found in our Resources.

These are not all the side effects associated with CAR T cell therapy. Talk to your healthcare team to understand the side effects of the CAR T cell therapy that you are treated with.