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Title	SNPs in the Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) pathway as predictors of treatment response in Age Related Macular Degeneration (ARMD)
Abstract Nr.	1052

Purpose	Age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) is a leading cause of visual impairment.Injections with anti-VEGFA antibodies such as ranibizumab (Lucentis®) and bevacizumab (Avastin®),are the standard treatment for wet ARMD. While most patients respond favorably to treatment, some do not.The difference seen in the responses suggests patient-specific factors influencing drug efficacy.We hypothesize that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in genes from the VEGF pathway contribute to response.
Methods	This is a retrospective cohort study.We analyzed the clinical data of 273 consecutive patients treated with 3 loading anti-VEGF injections and thereafter prorenata.For each patient, we collected the visual acuity (VA), the number of injections and the morphological changes.The latter included the central foveal thickness (CFT), the presence of intraretinal cysts, serous detachment of the neuroepithelium and pigment epithelial detachment. The patients were classified as responders and non responders.DNA samples were genotyped for 138 tagging SNPs in the VEGF pathway.
Results	Significant association was detected for SNPs within FLT4, VEGFA and HIF1A.
Conclusion	Identifying factors that define treatment response can help to develop individualized therapeutic approaches for the patients with wet ARMD.
Conflict of interest	No

Authors 1

Last name	BALIKOVA
Initials	I
Department	1 Ophthalmology, University Hospital Ghent; 2 Ophthalmology, University Hospital Brugmann
City	Ghent

Authors 2

Last name	Postelmans
Initials	L
Department	Ophthalmology, University Hospital Brugmann
City	Brussels

Authors 3

Last name	Pasteels
Initials	B
Department	Ophthalmology, University Hospital Brugmann
City	Brussels

Authors 4

Last name	Coquelet
Initials	P
Department	Ophthalmology, University Hospital Brugmann
City	Brussels

Authors 5

Last name	Catherine
Initials	J
Department	Ophthalmology, University Hospital Brugmann
City	Brussels

Authors 6

Last name	Efendic
Initials	A
Department	Ophthalmology, University Hospital Brugmann
City	Brussels

Authors 7

Last name	Thienpont
Initials	B
Department	Flemish Biotechnology Institute VIB
City	Leuven

Authors 8

Last name	Lambrechts
Initials	D
Department	Flemish Biotechnology Institute VIB
City	Leuven