Evidence / Sources / E7
Saris D et al. Matrix-Applied Characterized Autologous Cultured Chondrocytes Versus Microfracture: Two-Year Follow-up (SUMMIT). AJSM 2014
What it can tell you
That MACI beat microfracture on pain and function at two years in a 144-patient randomized trial (SUMMIT) — the field's benchmark efficacy evidence and the source of the KOOS cohort figures used on this site.
What it cannot
Nothing about patellofemoral-only cohorts (trochlea was included, patella was not). Nothing about which rehabilitation protocol produced the outcomes; rehab wasn't the randomized variable.
Everything on this site that leans on E7 — 4 claims
Benchmarks · KOOS Pain“37.0 → 82.5 at 2 years — SUMMIT randomized trial, MACI arm, defects ≥3 cm²”My Record · published cohort“KOOS-Pain 2YR 82.5”My Record · tile caption“The band is a two-year outcome. Early on, the slope is the only honest signal.”HD-ACI (ICC) · the population this site's program was built on“The trial that established MACI against microfracture required defects of at least 3 cm² and treated a mean of 4.8 cm², in the condyle or trochlea.”
Read it like a sceptic
Industry-sponsored — Vericel (then Genzyme/Sanofi) funded the trial. That doesn't void it; it's context you should have.
Mean defect size ~4.8 cm² — if yours is smaller, the comparison arm matters less.
Population
Defects ≥3 cm², condyle/trochlea
Selection policy
Sources enter the registry through docs/research — the evidence table records design, population, and size for every entry, and pages cannot cite anything outside it.