Compositions disclosed herein, and methods of use thereof included those for inhibiting or reducing the incidence of cytokine release syndrome or cytokine storm in a subject undergoing CAR T-cell therapy, wherein the subjects are administered compositions including apoptotic cells or apoptotic cell supernatants. In certain instances compositions and methods of use thereof disclosed herein do not reduce the efficacy of the CAR T-cell cancer therapy. Disclosed herein are also compositions and methods of use thereof for decreasing or inhibiting cytokine production in a subject experiencing cytokine release syndrome or cytokine storm including administration of a composition including apoptotic cells or an apoptotic cell supernatant.