Circadian rhythms orchestrate immune activation and effector function, yet whether within-day timing influences chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy outcomes remains unknown. We conducted an international, multicenter retrospective study of 1,052 adults with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma treated with CD19-directed CAR T-cell therapy across seven centers (2017-2025). The median infusion time was 11:48 AM (interquartile range, 11:06 AM-12:45 PM). Each hour later in infusion time was associated with an increased risk of progression, relapse, or death (hazard ratio 1.11; 95% CI, 1.03-1.20; P = 0.004) after adjustment for center, product, and key clinical variables. One-year progression-free survival (PFS) was 51.4% for early (12:00 PM) versus 35.2% for late (≥12:00 PM) infusion, while overall survival was similar between groups. The PFS benefit was driven by lower relapse and higher complete response rates in the early infusion group. Although no differences were observed in immune toxicities, late infusion correlated with higher peak inflammatory markers and reduced day 7 CAR T-cell expansion. Together, these multicenter data provide the first clinical evidence that the timing of CAR T-cell infusion may influence therapeutic efficacy and support prospective evaluation of circadian-informed delivery strategies.
Luan et al. (2025) studied this question.