Simple health checks before CAR-T or bispecific antibody therapy in older adults
Tests health checks to predict side effects in older people with lymphoma or myeloma.
Key facts
- Who runs it
- University of Zurich
- Where
- Bern and Zurich, SwitzerlandSee the 2 sites
- Trial code
- Registry title
- Pragmatic Geriatric Assessment Before CAR-T or Bispecific Antibody Therapy to Predict Side Effects and Outcomes in Older Patients (GA-ACT Trial)
- Status
- Recruiting
- People taking part
- 208 people, planned
- Started
- 12 Dec 2025
- Expected to end
- 1 Feb 2028
- Type of study
- Observational
- Treatments tested
- pragmatic geriatric assessment
- Record updated
- 30 December 2025
Who can take part
AI summary
From the trial's eligibility criteria. Machine-read from the registry text on this page, so it can be wrong. The registry text below and the trial team decide who can take part.
The trial is looking for people aged 65 or older who are scheduled for CAR-T-cell or bispecific antibody treatment. They take simple tests of daily function before treatment.
- Age
- 65 years or older
- Sex
- Men and women
- Earlier treatment
- Scheduled for CAR-T-cell or bispecific antibody (bsAB) treatment
Main reasons for not taking part
- Cannot understand or sign the informed consent
- Refuses to give consent
- Does not know enough German or French
The registry criteria, word for word
Show all 6 criteriaShow less
Who can take part
- male or female patients age ≥ 65 years,
- scheduled for CAR-T-cell or bsAB treatments
- signed informed consent
- sufficient knowledge of the German or French language
Who cannot take part
- inability to understand or sign informed consent
- refuse to consent
Where in Switzerland
- Inselspital BernBern, SwitzerlandContact: Anna Eggimann, PD Dr. med.Taking people
- Universitätsspital ZürichZurich, SwitzerlandContact: Wiebke Rösler, Dr. med.Taking people
About the trial
What the trial wants to find out
CAR-T cell or bispecific antibody therapies are a new treatment option for adult patients with aggressive forms of lymphoma or so-called plasma cell diseases ('multiple myeloma', 'plasma cell myeloma') that could not be cured with other, less intensive approaches. However, these are intensive therapies that can be associated with severe and potentially life-threatening side effects. Although there is no age limit for these therapies, we know little about the short- and long-term side effects of these treatments in people of advanced age.
Read full original descriptionShow less
Although a small number of patients in the pivotal studies were even over 80 years old, their number was too small to be able to assess the tolerability and success specifically in people over 65. At present, the treating physicians decide whether and, if so, which patients are considered 'fit' enough for this therapy. An objective assessment of the kind we want to investigate in our study does not currently exist on a regular basis. In this study, we therefore want to use simple clinical methods to investigate the effects of these forms of therapy in different areas of everyday function that are important for people in older age (mobility, memory, self-care skills, nutrition). We want to find out whether these investigations help to predict the risk of severe and/or long-term side effects. Based on the results, a pragmatic geriatric assessment could be introduced as standard before these therapies. Older patients could thus expect an improvement in their quality of life thanks to more predictable risks and side effects. Standardized screening could lead to lower healthcare costs for treatment and aftercare for both forms of therapy.
The group in the trial
- geriatric assessment group
Treatment: pragmatic geriatric assessment
Questions to ask the study team
- How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
- Are travel costs paid?
- Can I keep my own doctor?
- What happens if I want to stop?
Contact the study team: see the registry record → Contacts and Locations
Print a page for my doctorData and sources
- Registry record
- Listed on ClinicalTrials.gov.
- Official title
- Pragmatic Geriatric Assessment (pGA) Before Bispecific Antibody and CAR-T-Cell Therapy (GA-ACT Trial) for the Prediction of Toxicity and Outcomes in Older Patients Scheduled for Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-Cell Therapy (CAR-T-Cell-Therapy) or Bispecific Antibody (bsAB) Treatment
- Plain-language title
- Simple health checks before CAR-T or bispecific antibody therapy in older adultsGenerated from the registry record. The registry title is the official one.
- AI summary
- From the trial's eligibility criteria. Read by machine on 12 November 2026.
- Record updated
- 30 December 2025