Treat and extend effective in AMD

Bevacizumab and ranibizumab appear to have equivalent effects on visual acuity when administered according to a treat-and-extend protocol for AMD.

Karina Berg, MD, reported at Retina Subspecialty Day the one-year results from the LUCAS trial, the first randomized multicenter non-inferiority trial comparing ranibizumab and bevacizumab in a treat-and-extend protocol.

Funded by Oslo University Hospital, Norway, the LUCAS trial enrolled 432 patients with active choroidal neovascular membrane and edema involving the fovea. Best corrected visual acuity in the study eye ranged from 20/25 to 20/320. The difference between the two drugs in mean visual acuity change at one year was no more than 2.9 letters, Berg said