Fluorouracil Filtering Surgery Study (FFSS)

September 16, 2009 updated by: National Eye Institute (NEI)
To determine whether postoperative subconjunctival injections of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) increase the success rate of filtering surgery in patients at high risk for failure after standard glaucoma filtering surgery.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Filtering surgery adequately lowers intraocular pressure in most glaucoma patients. However, the prognosis is less favorable for aphakic patients with glaucoma or glaucoma in phakic eyes following unsuccessful filtering operations. Failure of filtering surgery is usually attributed to the proliferation of fibroblasts at the filtering site. The use of 5-FU, an antimetabolite, has been shown to inhibit the proliferation of fibroblasts in tissue culture, and in preliminary studies it has increased the success of filtering surgery in a nonhuman primate model.

The Fluorouracil Filtering Surgery Study (FFSS) was a randomized, controlled clinical trial comparing the success rate of standard glaucoma filtering surgery to the success rate of standard surgery with adjunctive 5-FU treatment.

Another element of this study was to evaluate the frequency and severity of possible adverse effects related to 5-FU injections. Detailed preoperative and postoperative examinations of the cornea, lens, and retina were performed. Systemic toxicity was assessed by preoperative and postoperative hematologic studies.

After the investigators performed the filtering surgery and determined that the new outlet channel was working, patients were randomized to receive either 5-FU injections or standard postsurgical care without 5-FU. The patients treated with 5-FU received subconjunctival injections of 5 mg of 5-FU twice daily on postoperative days 1 through 7 and once daily on postoperative days 8 through 14. There were 213 patients recruited into the study, 162 with previous cataract extraction and 51 with previous filtering surgery.

All patients were examined at 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, 18 months, and 2 years postoperatively and at yearly intervals thereafter until 5 years postoperatively. Possible concomitant risks of 5-FU treatment, such as toxic effects to the cornea, lens, or retina, were monitored.

Study Type

Interventional

Phase

  • Phase 3

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Men and women with uncontrolled intraocular pressure greater than 21 mm Hg in one or both eyes despite maximal tolerated therapy and who were aphakic or had undergone previous filtering surgery were eligible to participate.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Masking: Double

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Publications and helpful links

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Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

September 1, 1985

Study Completion (Actual)

June 1, 1988

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 23, 1999

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 23, 1999

First Posted (Estimate)

September 24, 1999

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

September 17, 2009

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 16, 2009

Last Verified

September 1, 2009

More Information

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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