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Clinical science
Original article
Bevacizumab and ranibizumab tachyphylaxis in the treatment of choroidal neovascularisation
  1. Julie L Gasperini1,
  2. Amani A Fawzi2,
  3. Ani Khondkaryan2,
  4. Linda Lam2,
  5. Lawrence P Chong3,
  6. Dean Eliott4,
  7. Alexander C Walsh2,
  8. John Hwang2,
  9. SriniVas R Sadda2
  1. 1South Coast Retina Center, Torrance, California, USA
  2. 2Doheny Eye Institute, Doheny Retina Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
  3. 3VMR Institute, Huntington Beach, California, USA
  4. 4Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
  1. Correspondence to Dr SriniVas Sadda, Doheny Eye Institute, 1450 San Pablo Street, DEI 3623, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA; sadda{at}usc.edu

Abstract

Aims To evaluate the effect of switching to bevacizumab or ranibizumab after developing tachyphylaxis during anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) therapy for choroidal neovascularisation (CNV).

Methods The authors reviewed the records of all patients who received both ranibizumab and bevacizumab for treatment of CNV to identify those who developed tachyphylaxis, defined as optical coherence tomography evidence of initial decreased exudation followed by lack of further reduction or an increase in exudation. Signs of exudation included subreitnal fluid (SRF), pigment epithelial detachment (PED) and/or cystoid macular oedema (CMO).

Results 26 eyes were included. 10 were initially treated with bevacizumab and then changed to ranibizumab for persistent SRF, PED and/or CMO. Of these, seven had occult CNV and three had predominantly classic CNV. One eye in the occult CNV group did not respond after being switched to ranibizumab. Six eyes had a positive therapeutic response, after one injection in four eyes, and after two or three injections in one eye each. In the classic group, two responded to ranibizumab and one did not. Sixteen eyes were initially treated with ranibizumab before changing to bevacizumab. Of these, 15 had occult CNV and 1 was predominantly classic. Three of the 16 eyes failed to respond to bevacizumab; 6 improved after one injection and 5 after two injections.

Conclusions Patients with CNV who develop tachyphylaxis to ranibizumab or bevacizumab may respond to another anti-VEGF drug. The majority of cases (81%) in this series demonstrated at least some response after switching therapies.

  • Bevacizumab
  • ranibizumab
  • tachyphylaxis
  • retina
  • macula
  • neovascularisation
  • treatment medical

https://doi.org/10.1136/bjo.2011.204685

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    Footnotes

    • Linked articles 203893.

    • Presented in part at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology Annual Meeting, Fort Lauderdale, FL, April 2008 and American Society of Retina Specialists Meeting, Canada, 2010.

    • Funding Supported in part by an unrestricted grant to the Department of Ophthalmology from Research to Prevent Blindness Inc., New York, NY, and a grant from the Fletcher Jones Foundation.

    • Competing interests LPC: Allergan Consultant; DE: Genentech Speaker; ACW: co-inventor of Doheny intellectual property related to optical coherence tomography that has been licensed by Topcon Medical Systems and receives research support from Carl Zeiss Meditec and Optovue, Inc.; SVRS: co-inventor of Doheny intellectual property related to optical coherence tomography that has been licensed by Topcon Medical Systems, consultant for Heidelberg Engineering, Genentech and Allergan, and receives research support from Carl Zeiss Meditec and Optovue, Inc.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

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