CMV retinitis is the most common intraocular infection in patients with AIDS and is estimated to affect 35 to 40 percent of patients with AIDS. Untreated CMV retinitis is a progressive disorder, the end result of which is total retinal destruction and blindness. The first two drugs approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of CMV retinitis were ganciclovir (Cytovene) and foscarnet (Foscavir). At the time of this trial, both ganciclovir and foscarnet were available only as intravenous formulations. Both drugs were given in a similar two-step fashion: an initial 2-week course of high-dose therapy (induction) to control the infection followed by long-term lower dose therapy to prevent relapse (maintenance). The FGCRT compared foscarnet and ganciclovir as initial therapy for CMV retinitis.

The FGCRT was a multicenter, randomized, controlled clinical trial comparing foscarnet and ganciclovir as initial therapy for CMV retinitis. Patients with previously untreated CMV retinitis were randomized to therapy with either intravenous ganciclovir or intravenous foscarnet. The outcome measures of this trial were survival, retinitis progression, loss of visual function (visual acuity and visual field), and morbidity.

Males and females eligible for the FGCRT must have been 13 years or older and have had AIDS (CDC definition) or laboratory confirmation of HIV infection and CMV retinitis. They could not have received previous treatment with an anti-CMV drug for their CMV retinitis. Furthermore, they must have had an absolute neutrophil count (ANC) greater than or equal to 1,000 cells/mL and a serum creatinine less than or equal to 2.0 mg/dL in order to tolerate either drug.