Research advances on stem cell-based treatments in animal studies and clinical trials of lymphedema

Abstract

To summarize the progress of the roles and mechanisms of various types of stem cell-based treatments and their combination therapies in both animal studies and clinical trials of lymphedema. The literature on stem cell-based treatments for lymphedema in recent years at home and abroad was extensively reviewed, and the animal studies and clinical trials on different types of stem cells for lymphedema were summarized. Various types of stem cells have shown certain effects in animal studies and clinical trials on the treatment of lymphedema, mainly through local differentiation into lymphoid endothelial cells and paracrine cytokines with different functions. Current research focuses on two cell types, adipose derived stem cells and bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells, both of which have their own advantages and disadvantages, mainly reflected in the therapeutic effect of stem cells, the difficulty of obtaining stem cells and the content in vivo. In addition, stem cells can also play a synergistic role in combination with other treatments, such as conservative treatment, surgical intervention, cytokines, biological scaffolds, and so on. However, it is still limited to the basic research stage, and only a small number of studies have completed clinical trials. Stem cells have great transformation potential in the treatment of lymphedema, but there is no unified standard in the selection of cell types, the amount of transplanted cells, and the timing of transplantation.