Elizabeth Aughey

My project involves looking at chimeric antigen receptor T cells (CAR-T) cell therapy through a biobehavioral lens. CAR-T is a novel, immunotherapy treatment with current phase I/II clinical trials for patients with relapsed, refractory B-cell lymphomas. We hope to look at the therapy's effect on patient quality of life and patient-reported outcomes associated with a patient's psychological responses to financial toxicity. Financial toxicity is described as the distress from out-of-pocket expenses, opportunity costs, treatment compliance, and survivorship. Our hope is that this will provide a greater understanding of how the economic burden of treatment impacts patient's quality of life and the overall success of the therapy.