Long-term results of photodynamic therapy for choroidal neovascularization in Japanese patients with pathologic myopia.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the results of photodynamic therapy (PDT) in highly myopic eyes with choroidal neovascularization (CNV).


METHODS
Open-label, consecutive, interventional case series.


METHODS
Forty-eight eyes of 46 consecutive Japanese patients with a myopic CNV were studied. The eyes were treated with PDT and were followed up from 1 to 4 years. The best-corrected visual acuities (BCVAs) at the baseline and after the PDT were compared. Multivariate regression analyses were used to determine the factors that were significantly associated with the BCVA at 3 or 4 years.


RESULTS
The mean follow-up period was 3.2 years. Sixty-nine percent of the patients obtained angiographic closure by a single PDT treatment, and the average number of PDT treatments was 1.4. Chorioretinal atrophy developed in 61% of the eyes at 3 years and in 70% of the eyes at 4 years. The BCVA did not change significantly after the PDT. Multivariate regression analyses showed that the BCVA at 3 years was significantly correlated with the baseline BCVA and area of chorioretinal atrophy. Analyses of the 20 patients at 4 years or more showed that in 5 of 7 (71.4%) patients with juxtafoveal CNV, chorioretinal atrophy did not develop and that all had BCVA of 0.5 or better. However, in 12 of the 13 patients with a subfoveal CNV, chorioretinal atrophy developed at 4 years, and 10 of these patients had BCVA of 0.1 or worse.


CONCLUSIONS
In highly myopic patients, 69% obtained angiographic closure by a single PDT treatment, and recurrence was rare. These findings indicate that PDT is still a good option for treating CNVs in highly myopic patients.
Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Japan.
Kengo
K
Hayashi
Kyoko
K
Ohno-Matsui
Noriaki
N
Shimada
Muka
M
Moriyama
Wakako
W
Hayashi
Jiying
J
Wang
Takeshi
T
Yoshida
Takashi
T
Tokoro
Manabu
M
Mochizuki
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D044466:Asian People; D020256:Choroidal Neovascularization / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D005451:Fluorescein Angiography; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D047728:Myopia, Degenerative / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D010778:Photochemotherapy; D017319:Photosensitizing Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult
D017319:Photosensitizing Agents