Table 1.
Summary of previous review articles relating to stem cell tourism and stem cell therapy
| Title | Author(s) | Journal | Year | Article focus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regulation of Stem Cell Technology in Malaysia: Current Status and Recommendations | Nishakanthi et al. | Science and Engineering Ethics | 2020 | Examines the objectives and effectiveness of the current Guideline for Stem Cell Research and Therapy in Malaysia |
| Cell therapy for Lung Disease: Current Status and Future Prospects | Enes and Weiss | Current Stem Cell Reports | 2020 | Overview of the current status of the field of mesenchymal stromal cell therapies with an emphasis on patients with lung diseases |
| Current state of Health Canada regulation for cellular and gene therapy products: potential cures on the horizon | Chisholm et al. | Cytotherapy | 2019 | Overview of the regulatory framework of cell and gene therapies in Canada |
| The ‘Growing’ Reality of the Neurological complications of Global ‘Stem Cell Tourism’ | Julian et al. | Seminars in Neurology | 2018 | Examines the status of stem cell tourism in neurology |
| Concise Review: A Comprehensive Analysis of Reported Adverse Event in Patients Receiving Unproven Stem Cell- Based Interventions | Bauer et al. | Stem Cells Translational Medicine | 2018 | Comprehensive retrospective analysis of adverse events reported for patients receiving unproven SCIs |
| Regulation of stem cell therapy travel | Cohen and Simana | Current Stem Cell Reports | 2018 | Focuses on the regulatory challenges of stem cell tourism travel |
| Current and emerging global themes in the bioethics of regenerative medicine: The tangled web of stem cell translation | Chan | Regenerative Medicine | 2017 | Recent developments in stem cell therapy landscape |
| Concise Review: Stem cell Interventions for people with Cerebral Palsy: Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis | Novak et al. | Stem Cells Translational Medicine | 2016 | Assesses the efficacy and safety of stem cell interventions for people with cerebral palsy |
| Social Responsibility in Stem Cell Research - Is the News All Bad | Benjaminy et al. | Stem Cell Reviews and Reports | 2016 | Examined articles from leading news media about stem cell interventions for neurodegenerative diseases |
| Science, ethics and communication remain essential for the success of cell-based therapies | Dominici et al. | Brain Circulation | 2016 | Distinguishes ‘proven cell-based therapies’ from ‘unproven’ and unauthorised cell-based therapies |
| Clinically relevant aspects of stem cell technologies: current state of play | Stuart and Pattavilakom | ANZ Journal of Surgery | 2015 | Summarises current clinical trials, with an emphasis on therapeutic potential, mechanism of action and associated risks |
| Cell therapy worldwide: an incipient revolution | Rao et al. | Regenerative Medicine | 2015 | Discusses regulation of regenerative medicine, cord blood banking, mesenchymal stem cell-based products and induced pluripotent stem cells |
| Ethical considerations when counselling patients about stem cell tourism | Tsou | Continuum | 2015 | Highlights ethical issues physicians should consider and provides practical resources to promote informed patient decision-making |
| Regulating the therapeutic translation of regenerative medicine | Cuchiara | Expert Opinion on Biological Therapy | 2015 | Article argues for policy changes at the FDA and other regulatory agencies to streamline the clinical trials process |
| Why regenerative medicine needs an extracellular matrix | Prestwich and Healy | Expert Opinion on Biological Therapy | 2015 | Argues that synthetic extracellular matrices is the most essential contributor for improving the outcomes of cell therapy |
| From bench to FDA to bedside: US regulatory trends for new stem cell therapies | Knoepfler | Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews | 2015 | Discusses the scientific, ethical and medical questions associated with the emerging trends in stem cell product development and their regulatory pathways in the USA |
| Human stem- cell research in gastroenterology: experimental treatment, tourism and biobanking | Hermerén | Best Practice and Research Clinical Gastroenterology | 2014 | Outlines the growing interest in the possibility of applying stem cell therapies to gastrointestinal diseases and discusses ethical issues raised by this kind of research |
| Representations of stem cell clinics on Twitter | Kamenova et al. | Stem Cell Reviews and Reports | 2014 | Review of Twitter posts discussing unproven stem cell therapies |
| Professional regulation: a potentially valuable tool in responding to ‘stem cell tourism’ | Zarzeczny et al. | Cell Press | 2014 | Considers the use of professional regulation to address physician involvement in stem cell tourism |
| Health consumers and stem cell therapy innovation: markets, models and regulation | Salter et al. | Regenerative Medicine | 2014 | Argues that the problem of stem cell tourism is embedded in the demand-supply relationship of the health consumer market and its engagement with different types of stem cell therapy innovation |
| The Ethics of Stem Cell-Based Aesthetic Surgery: Attitudes and Perceptions of the Plastic Surgery Community | Nayar et al. | Aesthetic Surgery Journal | 2014 | Characterises the attitudes of plastic surgeons regarding stem cell-based aesthetics |
| Curbing stem cell tourism in South Africa | Meissner- Roloff and Pepper | Applied and Translational Genomics | 2013 | Argues that a failure to understand the ethical, moral and cultural ramifications when new scientific concepts are introduced could hinder the efficacy and speed of bringing discoveries to the patient |
| Reassessing direct-to-consumer portrayals of unproven stem cell therapies: is it getting better? | Ogbogu et al. | Regenerative Medicine | 2013 | Assesses whether increased scrutiny of ‘stem cell tourism’ has resulted in changes to online claims by clinics that provide putative unproven stem cell treatments |
| Autologous cell therapies: Challenges in US FDA regulation | McAllister et al. | Regenerative Medicine | 2012 | Highlights the challenges the US FDA faces and present talking points for an improved regulatory framework for autologous CBTs |
| Stem cells in clinical practice: applications and warnings | Lodi et al. | Journal of Experimental and Clinical Cancer Research | 2011 | Discusses available stem cell subtypes and their rational use in the medical area, with a specific focus on their therapeutic benefits and side effects |
| The unregulated commercialization of stem cell treatments: A global perspective | Sipp | Frontiers of Medicine | 2011 | Provides an overview of pseudomedical stem cell treatments for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and makes regulatory recommendations |
| Clinical translation of cell transplantation in the brain | Dunnett and Rosser | Current Opinion in Organ Transplantation | 2011 | Identifies the major recent advances in stem cell transplants into the brain of animal models and discusses preliminary results on feasibility, safety, efficacy in an a range of human neurodegenerative diseases |
| Stem cell stratagems in alternative medicine | Sipp | Regenerative Medicine | 2011 | Discusses the stem cell industry as practised by alternative medicine providers and highlights points of commonality in their strategies for marketing |
Abbreviations: CBTs, cell-based therapies; SCIs, stem cell interventions.