Photodynamic therapy alone versus combined with intravitreal bevacizumab for neovascular age-related macular degeneration without polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy in Japanese patients.

BACKGROUND

To compare 12-month results of two single initial treatments--photodynamic therapy with verteporfin alone (PDT group), and this therapy combined with intravitreal bevacizumab (IVB) (COMB group)--for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD), not including patients with polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) who were presumed to have AMD.

METHODS

This retrospective study evaluated 23 eyes in the PDT group and 22 eyes in the COMB group. IVB (1.25 mg) was administered within 2 weeks after PDT. Main outcome measures were best-corrected visual acuity (VA), central foveal thickness by optical coherence tomography, and number of treatments.

RESULTS

At month 12, the PDT group had gained 0.7 letter mean VA and the COMB group, 8.8 letters (P = 0.04). Ten eyes (43%) in the PDT group and 19 eyes (86%) in the COMB group received only one treatment, and significant difference was found (P = 0.005). No severe ocular or systemic safety concerns were discovered.

CONCLUSIONS

Our 12-month results of PDT combined with IVB for Japanese patients with AMD without PCV appeared to be more effective than those of PDT alone with fewer treatments.