Intramedullary mesenchymal stromal cell transplantation in humans: Procedural safety and oncological risk reassessment.

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

• Level A · Stronger Clinical Evidence
• Level B · Emerging clinical evidence with positive signals
• Level C · Early human research exploring benefits
• Level D · Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studies
• Emerging · Emerging topic under active research

Abstract (original English)

Intramedullary cellular transplantation within the human spinal cord has historically been regarded as a highly experimental intervention associated with substantial theoretical risk. However, cumulative clinical evidence progressively challenges this perception. Multiple early-phase clinical studies have demonstrated the technical feasibility and procedural tolerability of intramedullary and intralesional cellular delivery in spinal cord injury (SCI), employing heterogeneous cellular products, including bone marrow-derived mononuclear cells, mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs), and neural stem cells. Despite considerable heterogeneity in cellular composition, dosing strategies, injection volumes, and delivery paradigms, severe injection-related complications remain uncommon. Reported adverse events are predominantly mild and transient, while procedure-induced neurological deterioration has not emerged as a reproducible safety signal. These observations suggest that controlled spinal cellular administration may represent a biologically tolerated intervention rather than an intrinsically destabilizing procedure. Beyond procedural considerations, long-term biological safety remains a central dimension of translational evaluation. While theoretical concerns persist - particularly regarding tumorigenesis, clonal selection, and potential genomic instability associated with ex vivo MSC

Evidence level

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

Browse all related research

Filter the research library by this study's title keywords, author, or publication year.