Investigational regenerative medicine for non-traumatic osteonecrosis of the femoral head: a survey of registered clinical trials

Abstract

Introduction: Osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) is a refractory disease requiring joint replacement in young patients. Regenerative therapies have been developed. Areas covered: This study surveyed clinical trials on regenerative medicine for ONFH. We extracted clinical trials on non-traumatic ONFH from the websites of five publicly available major registries (EuropeanUnion Clinical Trials Register ([EU-CTR], ClinicalTrials.gov, Chinese ClinicalTrial Registry [ChiCTR], University Hospital Medical InformationNetwork - Clinical Trial Registry [UMIN-CTR] and Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry [ANZCTR]).The trials were classified into six categories based on purpose: surgical treatment, non-drug conservative treatment, conservative drug treatment, therapeutic strategy, diagnosis and pathogenesis, and regenerative therapy.) We extracted 169 clinical trials on ONFH. Of these, 37 were on regenerative medicine, including 29 on cell therapy. Surgical treatment was the most common treatment, followed by regenerative therapy.There were 9 clinical trials registered in the EU-CTR, with 5 on regenerative medicine; 79 trials registered on ClinicalTrials.gov, with 24 on regenerativemedicine; 54 trials registered in the ChiCTR, with 6 on regenerative medicine. Expert opinion: The focus of the joint-preserving surgery has shifted to regenerative therapy based on using cell therapy in early-stage ONFH. The global standardisation of regenerative therapy is still ongoing.