Aflibercept demonstrates longer recurrence-free periods in BRVO macular edema treatment

Aflibercept demonstrated a significantly longer recurrence-free interval compared to ranibizumab when administered in a treat-and-extend regimen for the treatment of macular edema associated with branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO), according to a study presented at AAO 2023.

However, both treatments showed similar effectiveness in terms of final visual acuity outcomes.

In a recent prospective study, 110 treatment-naïve patients with BRVO were randomly assigned to receive intravitreal injections of either aflibercept (n = 55) or ranibizumab (n = 55) with follow-up assessments over the course of the study. The primary outcome measure was the time to recurrence of macular edema after the initial loading dose.

The results showed that the mean time to recurrence was significantly longer in the aflibercept group, at 10.6 weeks (95% CI, 9.7-11.4), compared to 8.9 weeks (95% CI, 8.5-9.3) in the ranibizumab group. However, there was no significant difference observed in the final mean best-corrected visual acuity between the groups, with 76.3 letters in the aflibercept group and 76.6 letters in the ranibizumab group.

The study also found that a greater choroidal thickness at baseline was associated with a shorter time to recurrence of macular edema.

Reference
Cullhed Farrell A, et al. Comparison Between Aflibercept and Ranibizumab in a Treat-and-Extend Regimen in BRVO. Poster presented at: AAO 2023.