Randomized Trial of Treat-and-Extend versus Monthly Dosing for Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration: 2-Year Results of the TREX-AMD Study

Purpose To evaluate a prospective treat-and-extend (TREX) management strategy compared with monthly dosing with intravitreal ranibizumab (Lucentis) in neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Design Prospective, randomized, multicenter clinical trial. Participants Sixty patients with treatment-naive neovascular AMD randomized 1:2 to monthly or TREX cohorts. Methods Patients with Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) of 20/32 to 20/500 (Snellen equivalent) were randomized to receive intravitreal 0.5 mg ranibizumab monthly or, according to a TREX protocol, no less frequently than every 12 weeks. After interval extension, if recurrent exudative disease was identified, this maximum interval between treatments was rechallenged according to a strict prospective protocol. Main Outcome Measure Change in ETDRS BCVA from baseline. Results Sixty patients were enrolled and 50 completed month 24, at which point mean ETDRS BCVA letter gains were similar: 10.5 and 8.7 for the monthly and TREX cohorts, respectively ( P  = 0.64). At month 24, 4 patients (20%) and 12 patients (30%) in the monthly and TREX cohorts, respectively, gained at least 15 letters ( P  = 0.41). No monthly cohort patient lost more than 2 letters, whereas 5 TREX cohort patients (13%) lost at least 15 letters. Anatomic improvements were similar between the cohorts. Through month 24, the mean number of injections administered was 25.5 (range, 22–27) and 18.6 (range, 10–25) for the monthly and TREX cohorts, respectively ( P Conclusions The TREX neovascular AMD management protocol used with ranibizumab in the Treat-and-Extend Protocol in Patients with Wet Age-Related Macular Degeneration (TREX-AMD) study resulted in visual and anatomic gains comparable with those obtained with monthly dosing, and most patients randomized to TREX therapy demonstrated a relatively consistent maximum extension interval.