title: Aflibercept as primary treatment for myopic choroidal neovascularisation: a retrospective study.
abstract: AIM The aim of this study is to evaluate long-term efficacy of intravitreal injections of aflibercept as primary treatment for subfoveal/juxtafoveal myopic choroidal neovascularisation (CNV).METHODS Thirty-eight treatment-naive eyes of thirty-eight patients with subfoveal/juxtafoveal myopic CNV received initial intravitreal aflibercept injections and were followed for at least 18 months. Aflibercept was applied again for persistent or recurrent CNV, as required. Statistical analysis was carried out using SPSS.RESULTS Mean patient age was 45.8 years, and mean eye refractive error was -7.79 D. For the total patient group (n=38 eyes), mean logMAR best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) significantly improved from 0.69 at baseline to 0.15 at 18 months (P<0.01). Over half of the treated eyes obtained resolution with one aflibercept injection. Patients were also grouped according to age, as <50 years (n=20 eyes) and ≥50 years (n=18 eyes). Mean BCVA improvement was significantly greater in eyes of the younger myopic CNV group, compared with those of ≥50 years (0.21 vs 0.35; P<0.05). The mean number of aflibercept injections was 1.8 for the <50 years myopic CNV group, and 3.6 for the ≥50 years myopic CNV group (P<0.001). Correlation between spherical equivalent refraction and final visual acuity reached statistical significance only for the <50 years myopic CNV group (P<0.001; Levene's correlation).CONCLUSIONS Intravitreal aflibercept provides long-term visual acuity improvement in myopic CNV. The <50 years old myopic CNV group had significantly fewer injections, with greater visual acuity improvement. Intravitreal aflibercept in myopic CNV does not require the three-injection loading phase used for aflibercept treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration.
authors.affiliation: Ophthalmology, Department of Neuroscience, Polytechnic University of Marche, Ancona, Italy.|Ophthalmology, Macerata Hospital, Macerata, Italy.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bruè
authors.affiliation: Ophthalmology, Sant'Orsola Hospital, Malpighi, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pazzaglia
authors.affiliation: Ophthalmology, Department of Neuroscience, Polytechnic University of Marche, Ancona, Italy.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mariotti
authors.affiliation: Ophthalmology, G. Rodolico Vittorio Emanuele Hospital, Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Reibaldi
authors.affiliation: Ophthalmology, Department of Neuroscience, Polytechnic University of Marche, Ancona, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Giovannini
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D020533:Angiogenesis Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D020256:Choroidal Neovascularization / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D005451:Fluorescein Angiography; D006801:Humans; D058449:Intravitreal Injections; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D047728:Myopia, Degenerative / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D040262:Receptors, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000187:drug effects; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D020533:Angiogenesis Inhibitors; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; C467484:VEGFA protein, human; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; C533178:aflibercept; D040262:Receptors, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor