In addition, 30% of the patients treated using the combination therapy required only a single combination treatment compared to Avastin monotherapy, with which all patients required additional treatments.
Thirty-five of 36 enrolled patients completed the six-month visit. The average number of Avastin treatments in group 3 (Avastin alone) was 5.1, compared to 2.8 in group 1 (Low fluence Visudyne followed by Avastin) and 2.4 in group 2 (Very low fluence Visudyne followed by Avastin). Over six months, patients who were treated in the group 1 and group 2 required significantly fewer treatments on average than those treated in group 3 (p=0.005 and p<0.001, respectively). Each group experienced an average improvement in visual acuity at month six, compared to baseline (group 1: 6.3 letters, p>0.05; group 2: 14.1 letters, p=0.003; and group 3: 10.8 letters, p<0.001, respectively). Michael Potter, the investigator-sponsor of the trial, said: "The results are encouraging, and more research continues to be done to evaluate the benefits of combination therapy in terms of helping patients improve their vision and also reducing the cost of treatment."