Effect of topical mttomycin C and topical 5-fluorouracil upon corneal neovascularization

Purpose. Clinical observation of glaucoma filtration blebs suggests that mitomycin C (MMC) may inhibit new blood vessel growth. This study evaluates the effect of MMC and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) on blood vessel growth in response to an inflammatory stimulus. Methods. An 8-0 silk suture was placed into the comeal sfroma 3 mm from the limbus of the both eyes of 24 albino rabbits. Eyes received the following subconjunctival applications: 1) 50 mg/ml 5-FU for 5 minutes, 2) MMC 0.4 mg/ml for 5 minutes, 3) MMC 0.4 mg/ml for 1 minute, 4) MMC 0.2 mg/ml for 5 minutes. The contralateral eye received balanced salt solution (BSS) New vessel growth was clinically graded every two days for two weeks on a 0 to 6 scale. The area of neovascularization determined from photographs taken 6 and 14 days after suture placement. Results, Clinical Grading: MMC 0.4 mg/ml for 1 minute treatment resulted in a lower new vessel grade over the course of the study than the three other treatments (p=0.008), and a lower new vessel grade than the BSS-treated fellow eyes from days 6 to 14. Eyes treated with 5-FU had a higher new vessel grade than all MMC-treated eyes on day 6 (p=0.024). Area from Photos: Eyes treated with MMC 0.4 mg/ml for 1 minute had a smaller new vessel area at both day 6 (22.Oil 1.2 area%, p=0.03) and day 14 (45. I±14.6 area%, p=0.03) than their fellow BSS-treated eyes (day 6- 75.2±27.7 area%, day 14- 96.0±27.6 area%). Eyes treated with MMC 0.2 mg/ml for 5 minutes had a smaller new vessel area at day 6 (p=0.03) than their fellow BSS-treated eyes. Conclusions. Contrary to previous preliminary data (IOVS. 1993; 34 (suppl); 726) we found only a small effect of MMC upon new blood vessel growth. Using both clinical grading and area from photos, only treatment with MMC 0.4 mg/ml for 1 minute mildly retarded blood vessel growth relative to both BSS and the other drug treatments.