Objectives: The 36-month XTEND (NCT03939767) multicentre, observational, prospective study examined the effectiveness of proactive treatment regimens of intravitreal aflibercept (IVT-AFL) 2 mg in treatment-naïve patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) in routine clinical practice. The 12- and 24-month outcomes from the XTEND UK cohort are reported.
Methods: Patients aged ≥50 years with nAMD planned to receive IVT-AFL 2 mg were eligible. After three initial monthly IVT-AFL injections, treatment intervals could be extended in 2- to 4-weekly increments to a maximum of 16 weeks (8-week minimum treatment interval). Endpoints included mean change from baseline in best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and central subfield thickness (CST) at month (M) 12 and M24. Treatment intervals and safety were assessed. Statistics were descriptive.
Results: In the UK, 496 patients from 23 centres were treated (mean age 79.7 years, 64.3% female). From a baseline BCVA (mean ± SD) of 55.2 ± 15.8 letters, mean (95% confidence interval [CI]) change in BCVA was +3.4 (2.0, 4.9) letters at M12 and +1.3 (- 0.3, 2.9) letters at M24. From a baseline CST (mean ± SD) of 395 ± 143 μm, mean (95% CI) change in CST was -105 ( 121, -89) μm at M12 and -105 (- 122, -88) μm at M24. By M12 and M24, patients had received a mean ± SD of 7.4 ± 2.4 and 10.7 ± 4.6 injections, respectively. Outcomes in patients enrolled prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic were comparable. No new safety concerns were identified.
Conclusions: Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, patients in the UK achieved and maintained clinically meaningful improvements in functional and anatomic outcomes through M24.
Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier, NCT03939767.
© 2024. The Author(s).