Clinical Ophthalmology (Feb 2022)
Effectiveness of Current Treatments for Wet Age-Related Macular Degeneration in Japan: A Systematic Review and Pooled Data Analysis
Abstract
Kanji Takahashi,1 Tomohiro Iida,2 Susumu Ishida,3 Bruce Crawford,4 Yoko Sakai,4 Akikazu Mochizuki,5 Ryuta Tsujiuchi,5 Satoru Tanaka,5 Kota Imai5 1Department of Ophthalmology, Kansai Medical University, Hirakata, Osaka, Japan; 2Department of Ophthalmology, Tokyo Women’s Medical University, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan; 3Department of Ophthalmology, Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan; 4Syneos Health Clinical K.K., Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Japan; 5Novartis Pharma K.K., Minato-ku, Tokyo, JapanCorrespondence: Akikazu Mochizuki, Novartis Pharma K.K., 23-1, Toranomon 1-chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan, Tel +81 3 6899 8000, Fax +81 3 6257 3634, Email [email protected]: We conducted a systematic review to investigate the effectiveness of clinical treatments for wet age-related macular degeneration (wAMD) in Japanese patients in the decade since anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) therapies were introduced.Methods: PubMed was searched for articles published in English between 1 January 2008 and 30 September 2018 using a multistring search strategy. Reviews were scanned for additional relevant studies and select gray literature was evaluated. Mean and/or median for the logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR) visual acuity (VA), central retinal thickness (CRT), and the number of injections after 12 months of treatment were calculated using extracted data. Data were stratified by disease type and treatment modality.Results: Of 335 studies identified, 94 were selected for data extraction (147 treatment arms; typical AMD, n = 25; polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy [PCV], n = 85). Mean (median) logMAR VA was 0.44 (0.32) for typical AMD and 0.34 (0.31) for PCV; the respective mean number of anti-VEGF injections was 5.6 and 4.6. The mean CRT was approximately 220 μm for both groups. For typical AMD, anti-VEGF monotherapy resulted in better VA outcomes than photodynamic therapy (PDT) alone. For PCV, anti-VEGF monotherapy or anti-VEGF plus PDT combination therapy resulted in better VA and CRT outcomes than PDT monotherapy. Combination therapy required fewer injections than anti-VEGF monotherapy (PCV, 3.2 versus 5.3).Conclusion: wAMD treatment has advanced dramatically in the years since anti-VEGF drugs were introduced in Japan. Discrete patient populations may benefit from differing management regimens, including the fewer injections required with combination therapy.Keywords: visual acuity, polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy, anti-vascular endothelial growth factor therapy, photodynamic therapy
