Treatment of choroidal neovascularization in age-related macular degeneration with interferon alpha-2a: a short term,...

A total of 11 patients exhibiting in 11 eyes a subfoveal or juxtafoveal choroidal neovascular membrane due to age-related macular degeneration (AMD) were treated with interferon alpha-2a (Roferon) according to a protocol that was designed for an independent, randomized, open-label pilot study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of this therapy. However, none of the patients agreed to be randomized and all elected to be treated. The average follow-up period after treatment was 8.2 months. In 6 of 7 eyes with classic choroidal neovascularization the membrane increased in size during and after treatment. Of these 6 eyes, 5 lost more than 6 lines of visual acuity. In 2 of 4 eyes with occult neovascularization the lesion enlarged. In the other 2 eyes the lesion became atrophic in 1 case and remained stable in size in the other. Visual acuity decreased by 3-9 lines in 3 eyes with occult neovascularization. Of the 11 patients, 2 discontinued interferon treatment after 8 weeks because of severe adverse reactions. From the data collected thus far in this study and in the majority of published series, we conclude that interferon alpha-2a in the dose range of 3-6 million IU given three times weekly over 8-12 weeks is neither effective nor safe for the treatment of subfoveal neovascularization in AMD.