Abstract
Purpose :
To assess treatment effectiveness and visual outcomes of intravitreal aflibercept injections (IAI) administered in a T&E regimen for wet AMD in anti-VEGF treatment-naïve patients (pts) in Swiss routine clinical practice.
Methods :
Interim analysis of the observational multicenter study ASTERIA (cut-off 01 OCT 2018). Data from pts receiving IAI on a routine T&E regimen were documented prospectively and retrospectively for up to 24 months after the first IAI. Descriptive statistics were applied.
Results :
160 pts meeting the eligibility criteria were included from 4 sites. Currently, the end of observation is documented for 156 pts. For 59 pts, premature end of study was documented: 19 pts (12%) stopped IAI T&E regimen before 24 months due to therapeutic success. Main other reasons were poor response (7%), change of treatment regimen (6%), or interfering ocular treatment (6%). At 24 months, 97 pts (62%) were receiving ongoing IAI treatment. For 92 pts, best corrected visual acuity data were available at baseline and 24 months. These 92 pts were included in the 2-year efficacy analyses: The mean baseline ETDRS score was 63.0 (±19.1) letters. The mean change in ETDRS score from baseline was +7.1 (±10.5) letters after 12 months and +5.0 (±11.5) letters after 24 months. Starting with a mean central retinal thickness of 406.5 (± 122.9) µm, the mean change after 24 months was -118.4 (±124.6) µm. Over 24 months, a mean of 15.3 (±4.2) IAI were given, whereby 9.0 (± 1.9) injections were applied during the first and 6.3 (±2.8) injections during the second year. The injection interval at 24 months was 68.5 (± 27.5) days. The last maintained injection interval at 24 months, defined as the time between two injections with no reactivation of disease, was 66.3 (± 28.2) days. For 31 (34%) of the 92 pts, no disease reactivation occurred under treatment within 24 months of study. The most commonly reported treatment-emergent adverse events were wet AMD of the other eye (n=5 pts), cataract operation (n=4 pts), and corneal erosion (n=2 pts). No serious adverse events related to IAI were reported.
Conclusions :
The 2-year analysis of IAI in a Swiss real-life T&E regime showed good clinical outcomes in line with previous reports and extended treatment intervals. The mean interval after 2 years was about 10 weeks.
This abstract was presented at the 2019 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Vancouver, Canada, April 28 - May 2, 2019.