The findings from this meta-analysis are important for assessing potential toxicity during drug treatment in both sexes. The outcomes measures of a drug in clinical application should be specified by subpopulation, such as males versus females, as a first step in personalized medicine.
Purpose
To compare the efficacy and safety of conbercept and ranibizumab when administered according to a treat-and-extend (TREX) protocol for the treatment of neovascular AMD in China
Patients and methods
Between May 2014 and May 2015, 180 patients were treated in a 1:1 ratio using conbercept or ranibizumab from 4 hospitals. Patients received either conbercept 0.5mg or ranibizumab 0.5mg intravitreal injections. Follow-up time was one year and treated based on a TREX approach. Main outcomes and measures include BCVA, using Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS); number of injections; central retinal thickness (CRT); and leakage of CNV before and after the treatment was analyzed by fluorescein fundus angiography (FFA) and indocyanine green angiography (ICGA).
Results
The one-year visit was completed by 168 (93.3%) of patients. Mean BCVA was equivalent between two cohorts, and were improved by 12.7±7.770 and 12.3±7.269 letters in the conbercept and ranibizumab cohorts, respectively (p=0.624). There was no significant difference in measured CRT, with a mean decrease of 191.5 μm for conbercept and 187.8 μm for ranibizumab (p=0.773). There was a statistically significant difference (p=0.001) between the drugs regarding the number of treatments: 7.4 for conbercept and 8.7 for ranibizumab. The difference in the distribution of injection intervals was statistically significant between two groups (p=0.011). During the study, there were no cases of endophthalmitis or intraocular inflammation.
Conclusions
Both drugs had equivalent effects in visual and anatomic gains at one year when administered. In the conbercept group, longer treatment intervals were achieved with more patients.
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