Intravitreal Aflibercept in Diabetic Macular Edema: Long-Term Outcomes

For decades, macular laser photocoagulation has been the standard of care in the treatment of diabetic macular edema (DME). With the relatively recent advent of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) agents, DME treatment has entered a new era. VEGF is a well-known pro-angiogenic and pro-permeability factor involved in the pathogenesis of DME. VEGF blockade has proven remarkably effective at reducing DME and improving visual acuity (VA) in eyes with center involved DME causing VA loss in several randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Intravitreal aflibercept, ranibizumab, and bevacizumab (the latter used off-label) are 3 anti-VEGF molecules currently available for DME treatment. Aflibercerpt is a 115-kDA recombinant fusion protein consisting of VEGF binding domains of human VEGF receptors-1 and -2 fused to the Fc domain of human immunoglobulin-G1. The ability to bind placental growth factors 1 and 2 (which is another pro-permeability mediator) and a theoretically long half-life are potential advantages of aflibercept over other anti-VEGF agents. The use of intravitreal aflibercept in DME treatment has been investigated in several RCTs. The aim of this chapter is to briefly report on the current evidence for treating DME with intravitreal aflibercept.