Association of an age-related maculopathy susceptibility 2 gene variant with the 12-month outcomes of intravitreal aflibercept combined with photodynamic therapy for polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy

Purpose To determine the association of age-related maculopathy susceptibility 2 (ARMS2) gene polymorphisms with the 12-month outcomes of intravitreal aflibercept combined with photodynamic therapy (IVA+PDT) in polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV). Study design Interventional cohort study. Methods This was a retrospective study of 48 consecutive treatment-naïve PCV patients. The patients underwent IVA+PDT as the initial therapy and were followed up for more than 12 months under a pro re nata regimen. The single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) at rs10490924 in the ARMS2 gene was genotyped using the TaqMan assay. The clinical characteristics and outcomes of IVA+PDT were compared among the 3 genotypes at rs10490924. Multivariate regression analysis was performed to evaluate the influence of the clinical cofactors on the association of rs10490924 with the visual outcome at 12 months after the first IVA+PDT. Results No significant difference was found in the baseline characteristics among the 3 genotypes (n = 9, 23, and 16 for the GG, GT, and TT genotypes, respectively). All the patients, regardless of genotype, showed a significant improvement in vision, central retinal thickness, and subfoveal choroidal thickness at all time points measured after the initial IVA+PDT. The number of treatments was significantly smaller in the patients with the GG genotype than in those with the GT or the TT genotype. On multivariate logistic regression analysis, the number of the T allele at rs10490924 was significantly associated with the chance of retreatment after the initial IVA+PDT. Conclusion The presence of the G allele at rs10490924 in the ARMS2 gene is likely associated with a lower chance of retreatment after IVA+PDT in patients with PCV.