Evaluating the Effects of C3 Inhibition on Geographic Atrophy Progression from Deep-Learning OCT Quantification: A Split-Person Study.

Introduction: To evaluate the effect pegcetacoplan, a C3 and C3b inhibitor, on the rate of progression of geographic atrophy (GA) as assessed by spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) using a split-person study design and deep-learning quantification.
Methods: A post hoc analysis of phase 2 FILLY trial data comparing study (treated monthly, treated every other month and sham-treated) and fellow (untreated) eyes in a split-person study design was performed. This analysis included 288 eyes from 144 patients with bilateral GA from the FILLY phase 2 trial (Clinical Trials identifier: NCT02503332). Only patients with bilateral GA and without evidence of choroidal neovascularisation in either eye were included. Patient study eyes were treated with sham injections or with pegcetacoplan monthly (PM) or every other month (PEOM) for 12 months. SD-OCT scans of study and fellow eyes taken at baseline and 12 months were used for the analysis. The main outcomes were the annual change in the area of retinal pigment epithelial and outer retinal atrophy (RORA), its constituent features (photoreceptor degeneration [PRD], retinal pigment epithelium [RPE] loss, hypertransmission) and intact macula as compared to the untreated fellow eye.
Results: Annual GA growth was reduced in eyes treated with PM versus untreated fellow eyes for OCT features, including RORA (study eye 0.792 vs. fellow eye 1.13 mm ² ; P = 0.003), PRD (0.739 vs. 1.23 mm ² ; P = 0.015), RPE-loss (0.789 vs. 1.17 mm ² ; P = 0.007) and intact macula (- 0.735 vs. - 1.29 mm ² ; P = 0.011). Similar (but not statistically significant) trends were observed with the PEOM treatment or when GA was quantified with fundus autofluorescence (FAF). The sham treatment demonstrated no effect. Pearson correlation coefficients showed concordance in the enlargement rate of GA between the study and fellow eyes in the sham (R = 0.64) and PEOM (R = 0.68) groups, but not in the PM group (R = 0.21).
Conclusions: Pegcetacoplan-treated eyes demonstrated a reduction in spatial GA progression compared to their untreated counterparts. This effect was more evident on OCT than with FAF.
Trial Registration: Clinical Trials identifier: NCT02503332.
(© 2023. The Author(s).)