Comparison of Three Consecutive Monthly Administrations Between Aflibercept 8 mg and Brolucizumab 6 mg in Polypoidal Choroidal Vasculopathy
<b>Purpose:</b> The aim was to compare the short-term outcomes of aflibercept 8 mg and brolucizumab for the treatment of polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV). <b>Methods:</b> This study included 48 eyes of 48 patients with PCV. Drug selection was based on the treatment period. Sixteen eyes received aflibercept 8 mg and thirty-two eyes received brolucizumab. All eyes underwent three consecutive monthly injections: aflibercept (114.3 mg/mL; 0.07 mL) or brolucizumab (120 mg/mL; 0.05 mL). Indocyanine green angiography was performed at baseline and at the 3-month visit to confirm the presence of polypoidal lesions. <b>Results:</b> In the aflibercept 8 mg group, best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) significantly improved from 0.28 ± 0.26 at baseline to 0.18 ± 0.25 at the 3-month visit (<i>p</i> < 0.001). In the brolucizumab 6 mg group, BCVA improved from 0.35 ± 0.26 to 0.29 ± 0.27, although the change was not statistically significant (<i>p</i> = 0.08). Multivariate regression analysis showed that better BCVA at 3 months was associated with better baseline BCVA and lower central retinal thickness (CRT), independent of the drug used. CRT decreased from 382 ± 157 to 198 ± 98 in the brolucizumab 6 mg group and from 358 ± 152 to 192 ± 76 in the aflibercept 8 mg group at 3 months. Subfoveal choroidal thickness (SCT) decreased from 201 ± 78 to 167 ± 60 in the brolucizumab 6 mg group and from 186 ± 76 to 153 ± 67 in the aflibercept 8 mg group. The dry macula rate at 3 months was the same for aflibercept 8 mg and brolucizumab 6 mg at 93.8%. Complete regression of polypoidal lesions was observed in 62.5% and 75.0% of patients in the aflibercept and brolucizumab groups, respectively (<i>p</i> = 0.57). <b>Conclusions:</b> During the induction phase, aflibercept 8 mg demonstrated comparable outcomes to brolucizumab 6 mg in reducing CRT and SCT, achieving a dry macula, improving BCVA, and regressing polypoidal lesions in eyes with PCV.
Authors
- Yoshiko Fukuda
- Kenji Kashiwagi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8506-8503)
- Yoichi Sakurada (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2894-0454)
- Yumi Kotoda (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4741-3163)
- Misa Kimura
Institutions
- University of Yamanashi Hospital (JP)
- University of Yamanashi (JP)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Pharmaceuticals
- Published
- 2025-11-27
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3390/ph18121811
- Primary Topic
- Retinal Diseases and Treatments
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00