Comparison of clinical effectiveness of conbercept and ranibizumab for treating retinopathy of prematurity: a meta-analysis

Backgound: Conbercept and ranibizumab have been used to treat retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). However, the clinical effectiveness of conbercept and ranibizumab remains controversial. Aim: This meta-analysis aimed to compare the effectiveness of conbercept and ranibizumab for treating ROP. Method: We systematically searched Pubmed, Web of Science, Embase, the Cochrane Library, Ovid, Scopus, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Database, CQVIP, Duxiu Database, SinoMed, and X-MOL to screen relevant studies up to November 2022. Retrospective cohort studies and randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating the effectiveness of conbercept and ranibizumab in treating patients with ROP were selected. The outcomes assessed were the rates of primary cure, ROP recurrence, and retreatment. Statistical analysis was performed using Stata. Results: Seven studies (n = 989) were selected in the meta-analysis. There were 303 cases (594 eyes) treated with conbercept and 686 patients (1,318 eyes) treated with ranibizumab. Three studies reported the primary cure rate. Compared to ranibizumab, conbercept had a significantly higher primary cure rate (odds ratio [OR] 1.91, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.05–3.49, P < 0.05). Five studies reported the rate of ROP recurrence, and there were no significant differences between conbercept and ranibizumab (OR 0.62, 95% CI 0.28–1.38, P > 0.05). Three studies reported the rate of retreatment, and the rates were not significantly different between conbercept and ranibizumab (OR 0.78, 95% CI 0.21–2.93, P > 0.05). Conclusion: Conbercept had a higher rate of primary cure in ROP patients. More RCTs are needed to compare the efficacy of conbercept and ranibizumab in treating ROP.