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Small study shows leading anti-VEGFs produce comparable results
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WAILEA, Hawaii — A small study showed ranibizumab and bevacizumab produced no significant differences in visual acuity and central macula thickness after treatment.
 Manju L. Subramanian |
"At 3 months, Avastin (bevacizumab, Genentech) seems to be as effective as Lucentis (ranibizumab, Genentech)," Manju L. Subramanian, MD, said here at Retina 2009. "Of course this is very early data, and we have very small numbers. We certainly can't make any treatment decisions or change treatment strategies based on this alone."
The prospective, double-masked study was conducted at a Veterans Affairs hospital, where cost of medication is covered for the patients. The study looked at symptomatic choroidal neovascularization patients who were 50 years old or older. The 20 patients were randomized two-to-one bevacizumab to ranibizumab and received three monthly injections and then as-needed treatment.
The 13 bevacizumab patients had an average reduction in central macula thickness of 50 µm and a visual acuity improvement of 14.7 letters. The ranibizumab group had an average reduction in central macula thickness of 116 µm and a visual acuity improvement of 7.8 letters.
Dr. Subramanian noted that there was an outlier in the ranibizumab group who lost vision. With that patient taken out of the calculations, the ranibizumab group had an average gain of 11 letters.