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Combined PDT, bevacizumab improved vision in AMD patients, study finds
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Verteporfin photodynamic therapy in combination with intravitreal bevacizumab injection improved visual acuity and reduced the need for re-treatment in patients with age-related macular degeneration, a retrospective study found.
Mandeep S. Dhalla, MD, of Washington University at St. Louis, and colleagues reviewed 7-month outcomes using the combined treatment in 24 eyes with juxtafoveal or subfoveal choroidal neovascularization secondary to AMD. All eyes were treated with 1.25 mg of intravitreal Avastin (bevacizumab, Genentech) within 14 days before or after being treated with standard PDT with Visudyne (verteporfin for injection, Novartis).
The results are published in the November/December issue of Retina.
Dr. Dhalla and coworkers found that visual acuity stabilized in 20 eyes (83%) and improved in 16 eyes (67%) at 7 months follow-up. Overall, visual acuity improved by an average of 2.04 Snellen lines, according to the study authors.
Of the 24 eyes, 15 (63%) required only a single combined treatment to achieve CNV resolution, and no eyes experienced complications, including endophthalmitis, uveitis or ocular hypertension, the authors noted.
"The results of this study suggest that combined treatment [using] PDT with verteporfin and intravitreal bevacizumab may be useful in treating neovascular AMD by reducing re-treatment rates and improving visual acuity," the authors said. "Further investigation with large, controlled trials is warranted to outline the appropriate treatment paradigm for combination therapy."