Impact of Cell Therapy on Cardiovascular Outcomes in Patients With Refractory Angina: An Updated Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomised Controlled Trials

Rationale: Cell based therapies are a novel potential treatment for refractory angina (RFA) and have been found to improve markers of angina. However, the effects on mortality and major adverse cardiac events (MACE) have not been definitively investigated.Objective: To investigate the efficacy and safety of stem cell treatment compared with optimal medical treatment (OMT) for RFA by conducting an updated meta-analysis, looking at clinical outcomes. Methods and Results: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) using the PRISMA guidelines. A comprehensive search was performed of PubMed, CENTRAL, EMBASE, Cochrane, ClinicalTrials.gov, Google Scholar databases of RCTs and scientific session abstracts. Studies were deemed eligible if they met the following criteria: (i) full-length publications in peer-reviewed journals; (ii) evaluated cell therapy use in patients with no further revascularisation options whilst on OMT; (iii) Patients had ongoing angina, CCS clas...