One-Year Results of Fixed Aflibercept Treatment Regime in Type 3 Neovascularization

ERNEST, Jan, Katerina MANETHOVA, Petr KOLÁŘ, Lukas SOBISEK, Riccardo SACCONI and Giuseppe QUERQUES. One-Year Results of Fixed Aflibercept Treatment Regime in Type 3 Neovascularization. Ophthalmologica. Switzerland: KARGER, 2020, vol. 243, No 1, p. 58-65. ISSN 0030-3755. Available from: https://dx.doi.org/10.1159/000499719.

Basic information

• Original name: One-Year Results of Fixed Aflibercept Treatment Regime in Type 3 Neovascularization
• Authors: ERNEST, Jan, Katerina MANETHOVA, Petr KOLÁŘ, Lukas SOBISEK, Riccardo SACCONI and Giuseppe QUERQUES.
• Edition: Ophthalmologica, Switzerland, KARGER, 2020, 0030-3755.

Other information

• Type of outcome: Article in a journal
• Confidentiality degree: is not subject to a state or trade secret
• Impact factor: Impact factor: 3.250
• Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1159/000499719
• UT WoS: 000507909500008
• Keywords in English: Aflibercept; Age-related macular degeneration; Anti-vascular endothelial growth factor; Optical coherence tomography; Retinal angiomatous proliferation; Type 3 neovascularization
• Tags: Reviewed

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of intravitreal aflibercept injections in treatment-naive type 3 neovascularization using a fixed treatment regime during the first year of therapy. Methods: Fourteen eyes of 14 patients diagnosed with type 3 neovascularization were studied. All patients were treated with intravitreal aflibercept injections using a fixed treatment regime of 3 consecutive monthly dosages followed by 2-month interval injections. Results were assessed after a 12-month follow-up period. Changes of best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), central retinal thickness (CRT), central macular volume (CMV), and retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) atrophy at fundus autofluorescence and infrared reflectance images were recorded and analyzed. Results: BCVA improved from 60.3 +/- 11.7 ETDRS letters at the baseline to 70.9 +/- 10.3 ETDRS letters at 12-months follow-up (p = 0.036). Also, CRT and CMV statistically improved after the treatment (from 425 +/- 117 to 308 +/- 117 mu m [p = 0.031] and from 9.52 +/- 1.90 to 8.29 +/- 0.95 mm(3) [p = 0.073], respectively). In 4 patients, development and progression of RPE atrophy were observed, and it was associated with the presence of serous pigment epithelium detachment at the baseline. Furthermore, the development of a fibrotic lesion eccentric to the fovea was observed in 5 patients, without significant impairment of BCVA (p = 0.290). Conclusion: Intravitreal aflibercept administered in a fixed treatment regime during the first year of therapy may be effective for the improvement and stabilization of BCVA in eyes with type 3 neovascularization. However, RPE atrophy and subretinal/intraretinal fibrosis can develop during the treatment.