Angioplasty of Femoral-popliteal Arteries with Drug-coated Balloons: 5-year Follow-up of the THUNDER Trial

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the 5-year follow-up (FU) data of the THUNDER (Local Taxan With Short Time Contact for Reduction of Restenosis in Distal Arteries).

Background: The THUNDER trial was the first study to investigate the treatment of femoropopliteal arteries with a paclitaxel-coated balloon (PCB).

Methods: In 154 patients, femoropopliteal arteries were treated with PCB, with angioplasty with paclitaxel in contrast medium, or no paclitaxel (control). The primary endpoint was 6-month late lumen loss (LLL). Secondary endpoints included freedom from target lesion revascularization (TLR), binary restenosis rate, and amputation. The 5-year FU compares outcomes in patients treated with PCB and control subjects. Additionally, LLL at 6 months and TLR up to 5-year FU were analyzed in terms of sex and lesion length.

Results: Over the 5-year period, the cumulative number of patients with TLR remained significantly lower in the PCB group (21%) than in the control group (56%, p = 0.0005). In the small group of patients with angiographic and duplex sonographic follow-up, PCB was associated with a lower rate of binary restenosis (17% vs. 54%; p = 0.04). No signs of aneurysm formation or constrictive fibrosis were detected. Whereas LLL at 6-month FU did not differ between men and women in the PCB group, the TLR rate was lower in men than in women at 5-year FU. A benefit of PCB treatment in terms of LLL and TLR was seen independent of lesion length.

Conclusions: The reduced TLR rate following PCB treatment was maintained over the 5-year FU period. No signs of drug-related local vessel abnormalities were detected. (Thunder Trial-Local Taxan With Short Time Contact for Reduction of Restenosis in Distal Arteries [THUNDER]; NCT00156624).