One-year outcomes of faricimab versus aflibercept treatment for polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy: a comparative...

To compare the effectiveness of intravitreal faricimab and aflibercept injections in patients with polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV).

This retrospective study analysed 111 treatment-naïve eyes (111 patients) with PCV who received intravitreal injections of either faricimab (30 eyes) or aflibercept (81 eyes). All patients were treated with three initial monthly loading injections. Visual and anatomical outcomes were compared between the two treatment groups after 12 months.

After 12 months of treatment, mean best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) improved significantly in both the faricimab-treated and aflibercept groups (P < 0.05), with no significant difference in the extent of improvement between the two groups. Similarly, no significant differences were found in the reduction of central retinal thickness or subfoveal choroidal thickness, nor in the proportion of eyes with dry macula after treatment. However, the faricimab group showed a significantly greater reduction in maximum pigment epithelial detachment (PED) thickness from baseline than the aflibercept group (48.2% vs. 38.7%; P = 0.015). A higher proportion of eyes in the faricimab group also showed a PED thickness reduction >50% (66.7% vs. 42.0%; P = 0.021). The rate of polypoidal lesion regression did not differ significantly between the groups (50.0% vs. 38.3%; P = 0.256).

Intravitreal faricimab injections resulted in visual and anatomical improvements comparable to aflibercept in patients with PCV over 12 months of treatment, including a similar rate of polyp regression. In addition, faricimab was more effective in reducing PED thickness.