Biomarker researchJun 11, 2026

Using the body's daily rhythms to improve cell therapy for blood cancers: how it works, clinical results, and ways to make it better

Circadian Biology Weekly Brief ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗OA ↗

Updated Jun 13, 2026

Abstract

Circadian disruption is associated with the initiation and progression of hematologic malignancies.

Circadian rhythms coordinate blood cell production and immune function via central and peripheral clocks.
Hematologic malignancies may be influenced by circadian disruptions, affecting tumor development and treatment responses.
Cellular therapies like hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) and chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy (CAR-T) show significant clinical effectiveness.
Circadian regulation plays a critical role in the outcomes and toxicities of HSCT and CAR-T therapies.
Opportunities for chronotherapy include optimizing the timing of cell collection, manufacturing, infusion, and post-treatment care.
Individualized circadian phase assessment could help personalize treatment scheduling for improved patient outcomes.

Simplified

Circadian rhythms are endogenous 24-hour timing systems that coordinate hematopoiesis and immune function through central and peripheral clocks. Increasing evidence indicates that the initiation and progression of hematologic malignancies are frequently accompanied by circadian disruption, which not only contributes to malignant transformation and disease progression but also anti-tumor immunity and variable treatment responses. Cellular therapies, particularly hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) and chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy (CAR-T), have emerged as transformative modalities for hematologic malignancies, demonstrating remarkable clinical efficacy. However, their outcomes and toxicities are significantly influenced by circadian regulation. This review summarizes circadian mechanisms in hematologic malignancies and chronotherapy evidence for HSCT and CAR-T. And we discuss chronotherapeutic opportunities, including timed cell collection, manufacturing, infusion, and post-treatment care. We further highlight the clinical relevance of individualized circadian phase assessment as a foundation for personalized treatment scheduling. Collectively, integrating circadian principles into hematologic cellular therapy may improve engraftment, enhance antitumor efficacy, reduce toxicity, and provide a practical framework for more precise and personalized treatment.

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Competing interests

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: This review is based on previously conducted studies and does not contain any new studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors; it does not require the approval of the independent ethics committee. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

PubMed

Using the body's daily rhythms to improve cell therapy for blood cancers: how it works, clinical results, and ways to make it better

Abstract

Full Text

Funding

Competing interests

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