DENVER — Intravitreal injections of aflibercept (Eylea) given in a treat-and-extend regimen can stabilize visual acuity and improve macular anatomy in eyes injured by radiation retinopathy, researchers say.
The trial is one of only two to show that anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) treat-and-extend regimen such as those devised for diabetic retinopathy can be effective in this condition, said Stephanie Trejo Corona, BA, BS, a researcher at Retina Consultants of Texas.
"Given the similar clinical manifestations of radiation retinopathy with diabetic retinopathy, well-established diabetic retinopathy anti-VEGF treatments seem to be useful for the treatment of radiation retinopathy," she said in a presentation here at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) 2022 Annual Meeting.
Radiation plaque, proton beam, and orbital radiation therapy can all cause radiation retinopathy, resulting in poor long-term visual acuity for which the US Food and Drug Administration has not yet approved a treatment.
"A lot of patients don't want to deal with monthly visits," Corona told Medscape Medical News"And because the treat-and-extend regimen does mimic more of a relaxed approach for administering the drug to patients, they would be more willing to come in and still have preservation and vision, whereas if they didn't come in at all, they would see devastating vision losses."
