Health Technology Assessment (Apr 2025)
Anti-VEGF drugs compared with laser photocoagulation for the treatment of proliferative diabetic retinopathy: a systematic review and individual participant data meta-analysis
Abstract
Background Proliferative diabetic retinopathy is a major cause of sight loss in people with diabetes, with a high risk of vitreous haemorrhage, tractional retinal detachment and other complications. Panretinal photocoagulation is the primary established treatment for proliferative diabetic retinopathy. Anti-vascular endothelial growth factor drugs are used to treat various eye conditions and may be beneficial for people with proliferative diabetic retinopathy. Objective To investigate the efficacy and safety of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor therapy for the treatment of proliferative diabetic retinopathy when compared to panretinal photocoagulation. Methods A systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials comparing anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (alone or in combination) to panretinal photocoagulation in people with proliferative diabetic retinopathy. The database searches were updated in May 2023. Trials where the primary focus was treatment of macular oedema or vitreous haemorrhage were excluded. Key outcomes were best corrected visual acuity, diabetic macular oedema and vitreous haemorrhage. Individual participant data were obtained and analysed for three large, high-quality trials in combination with published data from other trials. Network meta-analyses of best corrected visual acuity and meta-analyses of other outcomes combined individual participant data with published data from other trials; regression analyses against patient covariates used just the individual participant data. Results Twelve trials were included: one of aflibercept, five of bevacizumab and six of ranibizumab. Individual participant data were available from 1 aflibercept and 2 ranibizumab trials, representing 624 patients (33% of the total). When considered together, anti-vascular endothelial growth factors produced a modest, but not clinically meaningful, benefit over panretinal photocoagulation in best corrected visual acuity, after 1 year of follow-up (mean difference in logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution −0.116, 95% credible interval −0.183 to −0.038). There was no clear evidence of a difference in effectiveness between the anti-vascular endothelial growth factors. The benefit of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor appears to decline over time. Analysis of the individual participant data trials suggested that anti-vascular endothelial growth factor therapy may be more effective in people with poorer visual acuity, in those who have vitreous haemorrhage and, possibly, in people with poorer vision generally. Anti-vascular endothelial growth factor was superior to panretinal photocoagulation at preventing macular oedema after 1 year (relative risk 0.48, 95% confidence interval 0.28 to 0.83) and possibly at preventing vitreous haemorrhage (relative risk 0.72, 95% confidence interval 0.47 to 1.10). Anti-vascular endothelial growth factor reduced the incidence of retinal detachment when compared to panretinal photocoagulation (relative risk 0.41, 95% confidence interval 0.22 to 0.77). Data on other adverse events were generally too limited to identify any differences between anti-vascular endothelial growth factor and panretinal photocoagulation. Conclusions Anti-vascular endothelial growth factor has no clinically meaningful benefit over panretinal photocoagulation for preserving visual acuity. However, anti-vascular endothelial growth factor therapy appears to delay or prevent progression to macular oedema and vitreous haemorrhage. The possibility that anti-vascular endothelial growth factor therapy may be more effective in patients with poorer health and poorer vision merits further clinical investigation. The long-term effectiveness and safety of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor treatment are unclear, particularly as additional panretinal photocoagulation and anti-vascular endothelial growth factor treatment will be required over time. Funding This article presents independent research funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Health Technology Assessment programme as award number NIHR132948. Plain language summary People with diabetes are at risk of gradually losing their sight because blood vessels in the part of the eye called the retina may become damaged. This condition is called diabetic retinopathy. People with a more severe type of retinopathy, called proliferative diabetic retinopathy are usually offered laser treatment to reduce the risk of further sight loss. Recently, drugs called anti-vascular endothelial growth factors, which are injected directly into the eye, have been used to treat other eye conditions, and might be useful to treat retinopathy. This paper investigates whether anti-vascular endothelial growth factor therapy is effective by identifying and reanalysing the clinical trials that used the three main anti-vascular endothelial growth factor drugs (called aflibercept, bevacizumab and ranibizumab) to treat proliferative diabetic retinopathy. We identified 12 relevant clinical trials, including approximately 1100 persons, and obtained and reanalysed the data from three of the trials. We found that, after 1 year, people with proliferative retinopathy who received anti-vascular endothelial growth factor injections could, on average, read three or four more letters on a standard eye test chart than people who had received laser therapy. This difference may be too small to make anti-vascular endothelial growth factor injections worthwhile. The benefit of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor injections may also decline over time. Anti-vascular endothelial growth factor injections may be more beneficial in people with poorer vision when treatment starts. We also found that people who received anti-vascular endothelial growth factor injections were substantially less likely to experience some of the more severe consequences of vision loss, including where vision is lost in the centre of the eye (called diabetic macular oedema), and where blood leaks into the eye (called vitreous haemorrhage). The long-term impact of using anti-vascular endothelial growth factor injections repeatedly is still not well understood and requires further clinical research. Further trials that treat people with poorer vision or health generally would be useful.
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