Conbercept for patients with age-related macular degeneration: a systematic review

BACKGROUND: Conbercept is a novel vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) inhibitor for the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD). This systematic review aims to assess the efficacy and safety of conbercept in the treatment of wet AMD. METHODS: PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, VIP database, and Wanfang database were searched from their earliest records to June 2017. We included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating the efficacy and safety of conbercept in wet AMD patients. Outcomes included the mean changes from baseline in best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) score (primary outcome), central retinal thickness (CRT), plasma level of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) over time, and the incidence of adverse events (AEs). RESULTS: Eighteen RCTs (1285 participants) were included in this systematic review. Conbercept might improve BCVA compared to triamcinolone acetonide [MD = 0.11, 95% CI (0.08, 0.15)], and reduce CRT compared to the other four therapies (conservative treatment, ranibizumab, transpupillary thermotherapy, and triamcinolone acetonide). The incidence of AEs in patients receiving conbercept was significantly lower than those receiving triamcinolone acetonide [RR = 0.25, 95% CI (0.09–0.72)], but was similar to the other therapies. Conbercept seemed to be more effective than ranibizumab in lowering the plasma level of VEGF [MD = − 15.86, 95% CI (− 23.17, − 8.55)]. CONCLUSIONS: Current evidence shows that conbercept is a promising option for the treatment of wet AMD. Nevertheless, further studies are required to compare the efficacy, long-term safety and cost-effectiveness between conbercept and other anti-VEGF agents in different populations. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12886-018-0807-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.