From: Cell therapy as a treatment of secondary lymphedema: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Year | References | Study type | Edema location | Cell type/dose | Follow-up/assessment | Results | Conclusions |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2008 | Hou et al. [29] | Prospective controlled study | Upper limb | Freshly isolated bone marrow stromal cells N/A | 12 months/Circumference measurements, volume of edema, pain in arm | BM-MSCs reduce the volume and % volume of lymphedema, and reduce the amount of pain caused by edema | Autologous BM-MSCs transplantation for the treatment of breast cancer-related arm lymphedema is effective and feasible |
2011 | Maldonado et al. [30] | Prospective controlled study | Upper limb | Freshly isolated bone marrow stromal cells (7 – 56 × 107) | 3 months/Circumference measurements, chronic pain, arm mobility and sensory loss | BM-MSCs reduce the volume of lymphedema. Chronic pain and sensitivity are markedly improved | The use of localized injections of BM-MSCs appears to be helpful in the management of lymphedema secondary to radical mastectomy |
2016 | Toyserkani et al. [31] | Nonrandomized clinical trial | Upper limb | Freshly isolated autologous adipose-derived stromal cells (4.07 × 107) | 4 months/Circumference measurements, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scans, adverse events | ADSCs do not reduce the volume of lymphedema. Patients reported a decrease in symptoms over time. Five patients reduced their use of conservative treatment | ADSC-assisted lipotransfer is safe during the 4-month follow-up period and can alleviate symptoms of breast cancer-related lymphedema, minimizing the need for conservative treatment |
2017 | Toyserkani et al. [32] | Nonrandomized clinical trial | Upper limb | Freshly isolated autologous adipose-derived stromal cells (5.37 × 107) | 6 months/Circumference measurements, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scans, patient-reported outcome and safety questionnaire assessment | ADSCs do not reduce the volume of lymphedema. Patients reported a decrease insymptoms over time. Five patients reduced their use of conservative treatment | ADSC-assisted lipotransfer is safe during the 6-month follow-up period and can alleviate symptoms of breast cancer-related lymphedema, minimizing the need for conservative treatment |
2018 | Ismail et al. [33] | Randomized controlled trial | Lower limb | Freshly isolated bone marrow stromal cells N/A | 6 months/Circumferential measurements, heaviness and pain improvement, Immunohistochemical staining (lymphangiogenesis), recurrence of lymphedema | BM-MSCs reduce edema circumference as well as pain relief and improvement in walking ability. Increase in the number of lymphatic capillaries | BM-MSCs treatment can achieve improvement of symptoms in patients with chronic lymphedema |
2019 | Toyserkani et al. [34] | Nonrandomized clinical trial | Upper limb | Freshly isolated autologous adipose-derived stromal cells (5.41 × 107) | 12 months/Circumference measurements, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scans, Patient-reported outcome and safety questionnaire assessment, lymphoscintigraphy changes | ADSCs do not reduce the volume of lymphedema. Patients reported a decrease in symptoms over time. Five patients reduced their use of conservative treatment | ADSC-assisted lipotransfer is safe during the 12-month follow-up period and can alleviate symptoms of breast cancer-related lymphedema, minimizing the need for conservative treatment |