Outcomes following three-line vision loss during treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration: subgroup analyses from MARINA and ANCHOR

Aim This study aims to assess the impact of continued ranibizumab treatment for neovascular age-related macular degeneration on patients from the MARINA and ANCHOR randomised clinical studies who lost >= 3 lines of best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) at any time during the first year of treatment. Methods Baseline characteristics, mean BCVA over time and ocular adverse events (AEs) were evaluated both for patients whose BCVA loss occurred at any post-baseline visit and for patients whose BCVA loss was acute. The visit when the >= 3-line BCVA loss was detected was defined as the new baseline. Results Continued monthly ranibizumab treatment led to an improvement in mean BCVA from the new baseline. On average, patients with acute BCVA loss gained 11.9 letters at 3 months after the new baseline, compared with 0.3 letters gained with sham. No strong signals were detected in patient demographics and baseline characteristics for prognostic markers of BCVA loss. Furthermore, there was no pattern in the AE profile of patients with acute BCVA loss to suggest that BCVA recovery could be attributed to spontaneously resolving AEs. Conclusion Continued ranibizumab treatment appears to be beneficial for patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration who experience a >= 3-line BCVA loss during the first year of treatment.