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Gene variants in AMD may predict 3-year outcomes with PDT
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Variants of the ARMS2 gene may be associated with the results of photodynamic therapy in wet age-related macular degeneration, according to a study.
The 65 patients included in the study were recruited from the ophthalmology department at Kobe University Hospital in Japan. All patients had previously taken part in a study evaluating the 12-month outcomes of PDT in wet AMD between 2005 and 2008. As the authors noted, anti-VEGF agents were not available in Japan at the time and PDT was commonly used to treat AMD. In addition, PDT is still considered a beneficial therapy in patients with polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy, which is frequently diagnosed in Japan.
Genomic DNA was extracted from patients’ blood samples, and the single nucleotide polymorphism at rs10490924 in the ARMS2 gene was genotyped. The clinical characteristics and PDT outcomes were compared among the three genotypes of rs10490924 (GG, GT and TT), and a multivariate regression analysis found possible associations with the visual outcomes at 3 years after the first PDT treatment.
Patients with the GG genotype showed significant improvement in vision and fewer recurrences of the lesion, while patients with the TT genotype showed significant worsening of vision. In patients with the GT genotype, best corrected visual acuity had no significant change over the follow-up. Patients with a greater number of G alleles at rs10490924 showed greater BCVA improvement.
According to the authors, these findings suggest that “the assessment of genetic information is likely to be useful for evaluating the applicability of PDT,” and further genetic studies may lead to “personalized therapies in individual patients with wet AMD.”– by Michela Cimberle
Disclosure s : The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.
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