Anti-vascular endothelial growth factor treatment for retinal conditions: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Abstract

OBJECTIVES:

To evaluate the comparative effectiveness and safety of intravitreal bevacizumab, ranibizumab and aflibercept for patients with choroidal neovascular age-related macular degeneration (cn-AMD), diabetic macular oedema (DMO), macular oedema due to retinal vein occlusion (RVO-MO) and myopic choroidal neovascularisation (m-CNV).

DESIGN:

Systematic review and random-effects meta-analysis.

METHODS:

Multiple databases were searched from inception to 17 August 2017. Eligible head-to-head randomised controlled trials (RCTs) comparing the (anti-VEGF) drugs in adult patients aged ≥18 years with the retinal conditions of interest. Two reviewers independently screened studies, extracted data and assessed risk of bias.

RESULTS:

19 RCTs involving 7459 patients with cn-AMD (n=12), DMO (n=3), RVO-MO (n=2) and m-CNV (n=2) were included. Vision gain was not significantly different in patients with cn-AMD, DMO, RVO-MO and m-CNV treated with bevacizumab versus ranibizumab. Similarly, vision gain was not significantly different between cn-AMD patients treated with aflibercept versus ranibizumab. Patients with DMO treated with aflibercept experienced significantly higher vision gain at 12 months than patients receiving ranibizumab or bevacizumab; however, this difference was not significant at 24 months. Rates of systemic serious harms were similar across anti-VEGF agents. Posthoc analyses revealed that an as-needed treatment regimen (6-9 injections per year) was associated with a mortality increase of 1.8% (risk ratio: 2.0 [1.2 to 3.5], 2 RCTs, 1795 patients) compared with monthly treatment in cn-AMD patients.

CONCLUSIONS:

Intravitreal bevacizumab was a reasonable alternative to ranibizumab and aflibercept in patients with cn-AMD, DMO, RVO-MO and m-CNV. The only exception was for patients with DME and low visual acuity (<69 early treatment diabetic retinopathy study [ETDRS] letters), where treatment with aflibercept was associated with significantly higher vision gain (≥15 ETDRS letters) than bevacizumab or ranibizumab at 12 months; but the significant effects were not maintained at 24 months. The choice of anti-VEGF drugs may depend on the specific retinal condition, baseline visual acuity and treatment regimen.

PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER:

CRD42015022041.

• Authors: Ba' Pham, Sonia M Thomas, Erin Lillie, Taehoon Lee, Jemila Hamid, Trevor Richter, Ghayath Janoudi, Arnav Agarwal, Jane P Sharpe, Alistair Scott, Rachel Warren, Ronak Brahmbhatt, Erin Macdonald, Sharon E Straus, Andrea C Tricco
• Journal: BMJ open (BMJ Open) Vol. 9 Issue 5 Pg. e022031 (05 28 2019) ISSN: 2044-6055 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 31142516 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Meta-Analysis, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't, Systematic Review)
• Copyright: © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2019. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.

Chemical References

• Recombinant Fusion Proteins
• Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A
• aflibercept
• Bevacizumab
• Receptors, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor
• Ranibizumab

Topics

• Bevacizumab (administration & dosage, adverse effects, therapeutic use)
• Choroidal Neovascularization (drug therapy)
• Diabetic Retinopathy (drug therapy)
• Humans
• Macular Degeneration (drug therapy)
• Macular Edema (drug therapy)
• Ranibizumab (administration & dosage, adverse effects, therapeutic use)
• Receptors, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (administration & dosage, therapeutic use)
• Recombinant Fusion Proteins (administration & dosage, adverse effects, therapeutic use)
• Retinal Diseases (drug therapy)
• Retinal Vein Occlusion (drug therapy)
• Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A (antagonists & inhibitors)