Współczesna Onkologia

Ophthalmic complications associated with chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy: a review of current evidence

  1. Department of Ophthalmology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland

  2. Department of Haematology, Transplantation and Cellular Therapy, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland

Contemp Oncol (Pozn) 2026; 30 (3)

Online publish date: 2026/10/19
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Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy is an established treatment option for patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell malignancies. Despite its clinical efficacy, this approach is associated with treatment-related systemic toxicities, including cytokine release syndrome, immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome, cytopenias, and infections. Ocular adverse events are less frequently reported but represent an increasingly recognised and clinically relevant component of CAR-T-associated toxicity. This review summarises current evidence on ophthalmic complications after CAR-T therapy from clinical trials, observational studies, and case reports. In clinical trials and regulatory safety summaries, ocular adverse events were not prominent safety signals and were generally described in terms of broad visual symptoms, including blurred vision. Observational data, however, suggest a broader spectrum, including inflammatory conditions, dry eye disease, infectious retinitis, retinal detachment, and Purtscher-like retinopathy. Although uncommon, these complications may be clinically significant and diagnostically challenging, highlighting the need for timely recognition, multidisciplinary evaluation, and further prospective study.

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