Aflibercept injection effective long-term treatment option for DME, proliferative diabetic retinopathy

Intravitreal aflibercept injection is an effective long-term treatment option for diabetic macular edema (DME) and proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR), particularly for patients with poor baseline vision, according to a study.

Notably, aflibercept showed a trend towards superior visual acuity improvement compared to panretinal photocoagulation for PDR.

The study evaluated 16 randomized controlled trials involving a total of 7125 patients over a long-term period of 12 to 24 months.

The aflibercept treatment group achieved significant improvements in visual acuity compared to other treatment groups, including the focal/grid laser photocoagulation treatment, ranibizumab, and focal/grid laser photocoagulation. For patients with PDR and severe DME with poor baseline vision, aflibercept outperformed focal/grid laser photocoagulation treatment as well as other treatments after a minimum of 12 months and up to 24 months of treatment.

Moreover, the aflibercept treatment group demonstrated greater reduction in central subfield thickness compared to focal/grid laser photocoagulation treatment and other treatments.

There was no significant difference in the overall incidence of ocular and non-ocular adverse events among the different treatment groups, suggesting a comparable safety profile for aflibercept.

Reference
Xie X, Lian C, Zhang Z, et al. Aflibercept for long-term treatment of diabetic macular edema and proliferative diabetic retinopathy: a meta-analysis. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2023;14:1144422. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2023.1144422. PMID: 37260449; PMCID: PMC10227619.