Scaffold-based cartilage treatments: With or without cells? A systematic review of preclinical and clinical evidence

Regenerative scaffold-based procedures are emerging as a potential therapeutic option for the treatment of chondral and osteochondral lesions. In general, we can summarize most of the recent developments to reach clinical application into 2 major trends: the use of different cell sources or the application of biomaterials as a cell-free approach. The aim of this systematic review was to analyze both preclinical and clinical studies on these new trends to understand how the available evidence supports the use of cell sources or justifies the cell-free approach for the scaffold-based treatment of cartilage lesions.