One-year results of the intravitreal administration of faricimab in patients with naïve type 3 macular neovascularization

BACKGROUND: To clarify the efficacy of the intravitreal injections of faricimab and the change in vascular morphology of retinal-retinal anastomosis (RRA) after treatment in patients with type 3 macular neovascularization (MNV). METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 20 consecutive eyes with treatment-naive type 3 MNV in 14 Japanese patients (mean age, 81.8 years) at different stages. All patients were treated with 3 or 4 consecutive monthly intravitreal injections of faricimab and then they were followed by a “treat and extend, then fix” regimen in the maintenance phase over a 12-month follow-up. RESULTS: The mean logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) levels improved significantly (P < 0.01) from 0.87 at baseline to 0.64 at 12 months. Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) findings confirmed RRA in 16 (84.2%) of the 19 eyes, except for the eye with stage 1 at baseline, and 15 (93.8%) of the 16 eyes demonstrated the presence of vascular continuity at 12 months. No progression of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) atrophy was observed in any of the 3 eyes with RPE atrophy at baseline, and newly developed RPE atrophy was seen in 4 (23.5%) of the 17 eyes without RPE atrophy at baseline. All 20 eyes had dry macula and showed no other complications at 12 months. CONCLUSIONS: Intravitreal faricimab injections significantly improved VA, achieved dry macula, and nearly normalized the vessels on the RRA in most patients with type 3 MNV during the 12-month study period.