Clinical Study
Eye (2009) 23, 67–72; doi:10.1038/sj.eye.6702996; published online 28 September 2007
Comparison of photodynamic therapy to transpupillary thermotherapy for polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy
Proprietary interests: None.
Meeting presentation: Presented in part at the 2006 ARVO annual meeting, Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA.
Y Mitamura1, M Kubota-Taniai1, K Okada1, M Kitahashi1, T Baba1, S Mizunoya2 and S Yamamoto1
- 1Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba, Japan
- 2Department of Ophthalmology, Teikyo University Chiba Medical Center, Ichihara, Japan
Correspondence: Y Mitamura, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-8-1 Inohana, Chuo-ku, Chiba 2608670, Japan. Tel: +81 43 226 2124; Fax: +81 43 227 1810; E-mail: ymita@faculty.chiba-u.jp
Received 26 June 2007; Revised 3 August 2007; Accepted 10 August 2007; Published online 28 September 2007.
Abstract
Purpose
To compare the therapeutic efficacy of photodynamic therapy (PDT) to that of transpupillary thermotherapy (TTT) for polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV).
Methods
PDT or TTT was performed on 46 eyes of 46 patients with PCV; 19 eyes were treated with TTT (TTT group) and 27 eyes with PDT (PDT group). PCV was diagnosed by fundus examination, fluorescein angiography (FA) , and indocyanine green angiography (ICGA) . The best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) in logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR) units and OCT-determined foveal thickness were evaluated before and after treatment. For statistical analyses, the Student's t-test and 
2 test were used.
Results
The number of treatments during the 12-month follow-up period was significantly higher in the TTT group (1.7 times) than in the PDT group (1.3 times; P=0.0134). The difference in the BCVA between the TTT and PDT groups at the baseline was not significant (P=0.3150), but the BCVA in the PDT group was significantly better than that in the TTT group at 3, 6, and 12 months after treatment (P=0.0093, P=0.0074, P=0.0006, respectively). The foveal thickness decreased markedly at 6 months after treatment in the PDT group (P<0.0001) but not significantly in the TTT group (P=0.8982). A vitreous haemorrhage was observed after treatment in two eyes in the TTT group.
Conclusions
BCVA was significantly better and the fovea was significantly thinner in the PDT group than in the TTT group after treatment. Thus, PDT may be more effective than TTT for the treatment of eyes with PCV.
Keywords:
polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy, photodynamic therapy, transpupillary thermotherapy, age-related macular degeneration, optical coherence tomography
