Six PHL hospitals administering non-FDA-approved stem cell therapies, doctors' group claims

The Philippine College of Physicians urged several hospitals and medical practitioners to adhere to established standards of practice and medical ethics when they perform stem cell therapies (SCT) after they learned that there have been deviations from the three approved uses of stem cells in the country.

PCP officials appealed to the Philippines's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Professional Regulation Commission on Tuesday to strictly enforce standards of practice involving stem cell cures and probe advertised SCT techniques, adding that the only recognized SCT as of now are:

hematopoietic stem cell transplantation; corneal resurfacing with limbal stem cells; and skin regeneration with epidermal stem cells.

The PCP said all other SCT done in some hospitals and by some doctors that are not FDA-approved and are off-label, including those purported to address diabetes, autism, and HIV-AIDS must meet rigorous clinical standards and peer review.

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for specific cancers involves the bone marrow, corneal resurfacing with limbal stem cells concerns the eyes, while skin regeneration with epidermal stem cells is used to treat severe burn cases.

Dr. Carlos Lasa, a plastic surgeon, said the cosmetic and aesthetic applications of stem cell techniques have been abused and advised that people who are considering stem cell methods to heed the advice of doctors who adhere to FDA-approved methods.

Internist-cardiologist Dr. Antonio Leachon said the

St. Luke's Medical Center has assured them that SLMC will only administer FDA-approved SCT and conduct clinical trials, but the PCP is concerned about some hospitals known to be administering non-FDA-approved stem cell therapies according to media reports and advertisements.

Using a Powerpoint presentation, Dr. Leachon identified the hospitals of concern to them:

The Medical City (Institute of Personalized Molecular Medicine) in Pasig City; The National Kidney & Transplant Institute (NKTI); Makati Medical Center; Adventist Hospital in Cebu; St. Paul's Hospital in Iloilo; and

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Six PHL hospitals administering non-FDA-approved stem cell therapies, doctors' group claims