Prospective trial of treat-and-extend regimen with aflibercept for branch retinal vein occlusion: 1-year results of the PLATON trial

Purpose To evaluate the functional and anatomical outcomes of a treat-and-extend (TAE) regimen with aflibercept for treatment-naive macular edema (ME) secondary to branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO). Methods This was a prospective, multicenter, noncomparative, open-label clinical trial. Forty-eight eyes of 48 patients received three monthly intravitreal aflibercept injections prior to the TAE regimen. However, if the best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was >= 20/20 and the central macular thickness (CMT) was < 250 mu m during the loading phase, the patient immediately proceeded to the TAE regimen. The treatment interval was adjusted by 4 weeks based on changes in CMT. The primary outcome was the mean change in BCVA from baseline to 52 weeks. Results The mean change in BCVA was 23.6 +/- 14.2 letters. The proportion of patients with BCVA gain >= 15 letters was 77.1% at 24 weeks and 72.9% at 52 weeks. The mean reduction in CMT was 326.2 +/- 235.6 mu m at 24 weeks and 324.2 +/- 238.0 mu m at 52 weeks. The mean number of injections was 6.7 +/- 1.2 (range: 6-11, all patients received three monthly intravitreal aflibercept injections) over 52 weeks, and 34 patients (70.8%) reached the maximal extension interval of 16 weeks at 52 weeks. Conclusions The TAE regimen using aflibercept for ME secondary to BRVO, which has a treatment interval of up to 16 weeks, showed comparable efficacy to the fixed-dosing regimen along with reduced treatment burden.

Automated summary

The treat-and-extend (TAE) regimen with aflibercept for treatment-naive macular edema (ME) secondary to branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO) showed comparable efficacy to the fixed-dosing regimen over 52 weeks, with reduced treatment burden.