Presence of mitomycin-C in the anterior chamber after photorefractive keratectomy

Abstract

Mitomycin-C was detectable in the aqueous humor of the hen eye after topical application in PRK-treated eyes and in eyes with intact epithelium. The presence of MMC is of concern as it may lead to ocular toxicity in the long term.

Corneal endothelial cell injury induced by mitomycin-C in photorefractive keratectomy: Nonrandomized controlled trial

“…This prolonged effect could be due to the continued presence of MMC or to MMCgenerated, membrane-damaging free radicals. 25,31,48,49 A radiomimetic effect of MMC on surface epithelium has been detected for at least 8 months after treatment with MMC. 31 Although Kim et al 25 showed that MMC remains effective even 13 weeks after application, an animal study by Torres et al 48 found that MMC was detectable in the aqueous humor until 12 hours after topical administration of MMC during PRK.…”

“…25,31,48,49 A radiomimetic effect of MMC on surface epithelium has been detected for at least 8 months after treatment with MMC. 31 Although Kim et al 25 showed that MMC remains effective even 13 weeks after application, an animal study by Torres et al 48 found that MMC was detectable in the aqueous humor until 12 hours after topical administration of MMC during PRK. The presence of MMC is of concern because it may lead to 50 showed that MMC disappeared rapidly from human and rabbit ocular tissue and its concentration could be reduced significantly by irrigation.…”

Effect of mitomycin-C on the corneal endothelium during excimer laser surface ablation

“…Mitomycin-C has also been associated with endothelial changes in a rabbit, 16 whose endothelium has mitotic activity, unlike the human endothelium, thus making it difficult to extrapolate those results to humans. Torres et al 17 report a detectable concentration of MMC in the anterior chamber after topical application over the cornea, which suggests that the drug comes into contact with the deep stroma and the endothelium, raising the question of possible toxicity in these corneal layers. To our knowledge, only 2 papers 18,19 have reported the differences between endothelial cell counts in a group of patients before and after surface ablation with application of intraoperative MMC, with contradicting and not definitive results.…”

Systemic absorption of mitomycin-C when used in refractive surgery

“…9 The plasma concentrations associated with these toxic reactions were several-fold higher than the minimum level of detection investigated in this study. Previous studies [10][11][12] have identified aqueous absorption; however, the literature on serum absorption is sparse.…”