Effects of Vitreomacular Traction on Ranibizumab Treatment Response in Eyes with Neovascular Age-related Macular Degeneration

PURPOSE: To investigate the effects of vitreomacular traction (VMT) on ranibizumab treatment response for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD). METHODS: A retrospective review of 85 eyes of 85 patients newly diagnosed with neovascular AMD was conducted. Patients were eligible if they had received more than three consecutive monthly ranibizumab (0.50 mg) treatments and ophthalmic evaluations. Patients were classified into a VMT (+) group or VMT (-) group according to optical coherence tomography imaging. Best corrected visual acuity and central retinal thickness (CRT) measurements were obtained at three and six months after initial injection. RESULTS: One month after the third injection, mean visual acuity (VA) increases of 6.36 and 9.87 letters were observed in the VMT (+) and VMT (-) groups, respectively. The corresponding mean CRT values decreased by 70.29 µm and 121.68 µm, respectively. A total 41 eyes were identified as eligible for a subsequent fourth injection; 71.1% of patients (27 eyes) in the VMT (+) group but only 29.8% of patients in the VMT (-) group needed a subsequent fourth injection. Follow-up was extended to six months for 42 of the 85 enrolled patients (49.4%). The trends in VA and optical coherence tomography were found to be maintained at six-month follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: VA and CRT appeared to be more improved after ranibizumab treatment in the VMT (-) group compared to the VMT (+) group. VMT might antagonize the effect of ranibizumab treatment in a subpopulation of AMD patients.