Real-World Treatment Strategies in Retinal Vascular Diseases

In “Real-World Treatment Strategies in Retinal Vascular Diseases,” our panel explores how retina specialists are utilizing real-world evidence to guide treatment decisions, optimize injection intervals, and individualize anti-VEGF therapy for patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD), diabetic macular edema (DME), and retinal vein occlusion (RVO). The panelists discuss how next-generation anti-VEGF therapies, including aflibercept 8 mg and faricimab, are helping clinicians extend treatment intervals while maintaining disease control and visual outcomes in routine clinical practice.

The expert faculty review how treatment decisions are often driven by anatomic findings such as subretinal fluid, intraretinal fluid, and persistent exudation. The discussion highlights the widespread use of treat-and-extend strategies, where clinicians gradually increase dosing intervals based on disease stability while adjusting treatment plans when recurrent disease activity emerges. The panel also examines how switching therapies may help improve durability for some patients and reduce injection burden over time.

In addition, the discussion explores the evolving role of faricimab and its dual-pathway mechanism targeting VEGF-A and Ang-2. The panelists review how modulation of the Tie2 pathway may contribute to improved vascular stability and disease control in retinal vascular diseases. The expert faculty also discuss how emerging real-world experience is helping clinicians better understand which patients may benefit most from newer therapies designed to improve both efficacy and durability. Throughout the conversation, the panel emphasizes the importance of expanding therapeutic options to help optimize long-term outcomes and reduce treatment burden for patients living with retinal vascular diseases.

The next episode in this series, “Real-World Management of Retinal Vascular Diseases,” features the panelists discussing how clinicians evaluate anti-VEGF treatment response using retinal anatomy, visual outcomes, and patient symptoms. The expert faculty also highlight how real-world treatment patterns and dosing intervals may differ from clinical trial expectations while still supporting individualized disease management.