Angiographic Outcomes Compare Cerebral Aneurysm Treatment With Cerecyte Coils Versus Bare Platinum Coils

October 1, 2012—Andrew J. Molyneux, FRCR, et al recently reported outcomes of the Cerecyte Coil trial in Stroke (2012;43:2544–2550).

The Cerecyte Coil trial was created to determine whether polymer-loaded Cerecyte coils compared with Micrus bare platinum coils (Micrus Endovascular Corporation, San Jose, CA) improve the proportion of patients with aneurysm occlusion at 6 months when assessed via angiography by a core laboratory. The secondary objectives were to compare the clinical outcomes and retreatment rates in the two groups. 

The investigators concluded that there was no significant difference at 6 months in the angiographic outcomes between Cerecyte coils and bare platinum coils when assessed by the core laboratory.

As detailed in Stroke, 500 patients between 18 and 70 years of age with a ruptured or unruptured target aneurysm were randomized to be treated with either Cerecyte or bare platinum coils in 23 centers worldwide. Of these, 249 patients were assigned to Cerecyte coils and 251 were assigned to bare platinum coils. Analysis was by intention to treat.

The investigators reported that 494 patients were eligible for analysis. Of these, 481 patients underwent coil treatment of their aneurysms; there were 227 patients with recently ruptured aneurysms and 254 with unruptured aneurysms.

The core laboratory assessed 433 follow-up angiograms and found that 127 of 215 patients (59%) in the Cerecyte group and 118 of 218 (54%) in the bare platinum group fulfilled the prespecified trial definition of success. Success meant that the treated aneurysm showed complete angiographic occlusion, had stable neck remnant, or improved in angiographic appearance compared with the end-of-treatment angiogram (P = .17). Late retreatment was performed in 25 of 452 patients (5.5%) (17 [7.7%] Cerecyte vs eight [3.5%] bare platinum; P = .064; range, 4–34 months). The clinical outcomes did not differ between the groups, according to the study summary in Stroke.

Micrus was acquired by Johnson & Johnson in 2010 as part of Codman Neurovascular, Inc. (Raynham, MA).