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CompletedNCT01605201Nose2KneeUpdated Aug 27, 2018

Tissue Engineered Nasal Cartilage for Regeneration of Articular Cartilage

A Phase 1 interventional study of Tissue engineered cartilage graft in Cartilage Lesion and Degenerative Lesion of Articular Cartilage of Knee, sponsored by University Hospital, Basel, Switzerland. Completed at 1 site in Switzerland. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 55 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2018-08-27.

Sponsored by University Hospital, Basel, Switzerland · Phase 1, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Phase 1
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
18
Allocation
Not applicable
Ages
18 Years to 55 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The purpose of this study is to investigate the safety and feasibility of implanting an engineered cartilage graft obtained by culturing expanded autologous nasal chondrocytes within a collagen type I/III membrane into the cartilage defect on the femoral condyle and/or trochlea of the knee after a traumatic injury.

Read the detailed description

Articular cartilage injuries are a prime target for regenerative techniques, since spontaneous healing is poor and untreated defects predispose to osteoarthritis. Common current strategies such as arthroscopic debridement, microfracture, autologous osteochondral grafting, use of allografts and autologous chondrocytes implantation (ACI) still have drawbacks such as long and complex rehabilitation times, technically challenging operation techniques, defect-size limitations, donor-site morbidity, limited graft material and high costs. Furthermore many techniques show unsatisfactory long term results due to inferior quality of repair tissue as compared to native cartilage or have yet to prove the cost versus benefit. These drawbacks could be overcome by using a tissue engineered nasal cartilage graft, thereby reducing donor site morbidity without introducing additional risk of complication or technically challenging techniques.

This study is a phase I, prospective, uncontrolled, investigator initiated clinical trial involving 25 patients, with the objective of demonstrating safety and feasibility in the use of engineered nasal cartilage grafts for repair of articular cartilage. The specific surgical target of the trial is the repair of one or two full-thickness cartilage defects from 2 cm2 to 8 cm2 (per lesion, not exceeding a total of 8 cm2 for all lesions) due to traumatic injury on the femoral condyle and/or trochlea of the knee.

02

Conditions studied

  • Cartilage Lesion
  • Degenerative Lesion of Articular Cartilage of Knee

Keywords

  • Chondral lesions in the knee after traumatic injury
03

In context

Lead sponsor

University Hospital, Basel, Switzerland is the lead sponsor of 968 studies on the registry; 191 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 55 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  • Size of the defect on the femoral cartilage:one or two symptomatic lesion(s) grade III-IV from 2 cm2 to 8 cm2 at the femoral condyle and/or trochlea
  • Other:
  • Age: 18-55 years
  • Written informed consent by the patient

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Defect:

    • Lesions smaller than 2cm2 or greater than 8cm2
    • Total area of all lesions bigger than 8cm2
    • Lesions other than on the femoral condyle and/or trochlea
    • Any evidence of the following diseases in the target joint: septic arthritis; inflammatory joint disease; gout; recurrent episodes of pseudogout; Paget disease of bone; ochronosis; acromegaly; hemochromatosis;Wilson disease; primary osteochondromatosis; heritable disorders; collagen gene mutations
    • Presence of a clinically relevant cartilage lesion on the patella (second lesion)
    • Patellofemoral cartilage lesion
    • Presence of relevant complex knee injuries affecting bone and/or ligaments
    • Osteochondritis dissecans: recent (within 1 year before baseline); depth of lesion >0.5 cm; subchondral sclerosis
    • Advanced osteoarthritis (as defined by Radiographic Atlas of Osteoarthritis, grade 2-3)
    • Varus or valgus malalignment exceeding 5° (kissing lesions out)

  • Medical history:

    • gravidity (Pregnancy)
    • breast feeding
    • presence of multiple severe allergies (including porcine collagen, streptomycin and penicillin)
    • Osteoarthritis
    • Current diagnosis of osteomyelitis
    • Any clinically significant or symptomatic vascular or neurologic disorder of the lower extremities
    • A blood result showing liver enzymes (serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase, serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase, alkaline phosphatase) of more than 2 times the upper limit of normal or any other result that in the clinical investigator's mind is clinically important
    • C-reactive protein level greater than 10 mg/L
    • Uncontrolled diabetes
    • Renal insufficiency
    • Previous pacemaker implantation
    • Any concomitant painful or disabling disease of the spine, hips, or lower limbs that would interfere with evaluation of the afflicted knee
    • Mosaicplasty (osteochondral autograft transfer system)
    • Microfracture performed less than 1 year before baseline
    • Received hyaluronic acid intra-articular injections into the afflicted knee within the last 6 months of baseline Meniscal transplant (previous/present)
    • Meniscal suture with meniscal arrows ipsilaterally (present or previous if not resorbed)
    • Taking specific osteoarthritis drugs, such as chondroitin sulfate, diacerein, n-glucosamine, piascledine, and capsaicin, within 2 weeks of the baseline visit
    • Corticosteroid therapy by systemic or intra-articular route within the last month of baseline or intramuscular or oral corticosteroids within the last 2 weeks of baseline
    • Chronic use of anticoagulants
    • Patients with human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis, or syphilis
    • Malignancy
    • Alcohol and drug (medication) abuse
    • Poor general health condition as judged by investigator
    • Body mass index >35 kg/m2
    • Medication:chronic treatment with steroids or growth factors (immunomodulatory drugs)

  • Other:

    • Participation in concurrent clinical trials
    • Participation in a previous clinical trial within 1 year
05

Study design

Phase
Phase 1
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Not applicable
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
18 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Implantation of cartilage graft

    Biological: Tissue engineered cartilage graft

Interventions

  • BiologicalTissue engineered cartilage graft

    Autologous nasal chondrocytes expanded in vitro and cultured in a collagen type I//III scaffold

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. 1-Safety for the patient

    Safety will be assessed by the incidence of adverse reactions and adverse events. Expected postoperative complications also occurring in the standard procedure are: pain, swelling and hematoma, casually post-anesthetic nausea, vomiting or fever.

    Time frame: until 24 months

  2. 2- Stability of the graft

    It will be assessed by Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) technique at 6, 12 and 24 months indicating if the graft is in place and if there are signs of complications. Parameters to be evaluated are: filling of the defect, integration of the border zone to the adjacent cartilage, intactness of the subchondral lamina, intactness of the subchondral bone, and relative signal intensities of the repair tissue compared to the adjacent native cartilage.

    Time frame: until 24 months

Secondary outcomes

  1. Subjective pain relief

    Subjective relief of pain for the patient will be assessed using the International Cartilage Repair Society (ICRS) Cartilage Injury Evaluation Package which includes the pre- and postsurgical evaluation of general medical conditions, pain, activity level as well as functional and morphological status.

    Time frame: until 24 months

07

Study locations

1 site
  • University Hospital Basel
    Basel, 4031, Switzerland
08

References and documents

Publications

  • Mumme M, Barbero A, Miot S, Wixmerten A, Feliciano S, Wolf F, Asnaghi AM, Baumhoer D, Bieri O, Kretzschmar M, Pagenstert G, Haug M, Schaefer DJ, Martin I, Jakob M. Nasal chondrocyte-based engineered autologous cartilage tissue for repair of articular cartilage defects: an observational first-in-human trial. Lancet. 2016 Oct 22;388(10055):1985-1994. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(16)31658-0. PubMed 27789021 ↗
09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Aug 27, 2018, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT01605201
Lead sponsor
University Hospital, Basel, Switzerland
Collaborators
Deutsche Arthrose-Hilfe
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
May 24, 2012
Start date
Aug 29, 2012
Primary completion
Aug 15, 2018
Completion
Aug 15, 2018
Last update
Aug 27, 2018

Study contacts

Marcel Jakob, Prof. Dr.
principal investigator · University Hospital, Basel, Switzerland

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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This study is completed, as verified in Aug 2018. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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