INTRAVITREAL BEVACIZUMAB FOR CHOROIDAL NEOVASCULARIZATION IN AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION 5-Year Results of The Pan-American Collaborative Retina Study Group

Purpose: To report the long-term anatomical and functional outcomes of patients with choroidal neovascularization secondary to age-related macular degeneration treated with intravitreal bevacizumab (IVB). Methods: Retrospective case series. Patients diagnosed with subfoveal choroidal neovascularization secondary to age-related macular degeneration that were treated with at least 1 intravitreal injection of 1.25 mg of IVB and had a minimum follow-up of 60 months. Patients underwent best-corrected Snellen visual acuity testing, optical coherence tomography, and ophthalmoscopic examination at baseline and follow-up visits. Results: Two hundred and forty-seven consecutive patients (292 eyes) were included. The mean number of IVB injections per eye was 10.9 +/- 6.4. At 5 years, the BCVA decreased from 20/150 (logMAR 0.9 +/- 0.6) at baseline to 20/250 (logMAR 1.1 +/- 0.7) (P = <0.0001). The mean CMT decreased from 343.1+ 122.3 mm at baseline to 314.7 +/- 128.8 mm at 60 months of follow-up (P = 0.009). Geographic atrophy (GA) was observed at baseline in 47 (16%) of 292 eyes. By 5 years, GA developed or progressed in 124 (42.5%) of 292 eyes (P < 0.0001). Conclusion: The early visual gains obtained from IVB were not maintained at 5 years of follow-up. In addition, IVB may play a role in the development or progression of GA.