Rationale for Correct Answer
The correct answer is: In a phase 3 trial of patients with CD with complex perianal fistula, mesenchymal stem cell therapy was associated with higher rates of clinical remission than placebo
A phase 3 trial found that the mesenchymal stem cell therapy darvadstrocel was more effective than placebo in achieving clinical remission in patients with CD with complex perianal fistula.1 In contrast, hematopoietic stem cell therapy has only been studied in small-scale trials in IBD, with mixed results.2 FMT has only been studied in small, randomized trials, with mixed results.3 A meta-analysis of 6 double-blind RCTs found that FMT was associated with a significant improvement in both clinical and endoscopic remission and response relative to placebo.3
References:
1. Panés J et al. Inflamm Bowel Dis. 2022;28(11):1737-45;
2. Zhang HM et al. Int J Mol Sci. 2022;23(15):8494;
3. Zhang X et al. Front Med (Lausanne). 2022;9:1068567;
4. El Hage Chehade N et al. Inflamm Bowel Dis. 2023;29(5):808-17.