Tianjin Medical Journal ›› 2026, Vol. 54 ›› Issue (7): 779-784.doi: 10.11958/20253432

• Review • Previous Articles    

Research progress on the heterogeneity of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor therapy response in diabetic macular edema

HE Ziye1,2(), ZU Jie2, HAO Qian1, JIA Zhiyang2,()   

  1. 1 College of Clinical Medicine, North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan 063210, China
    2 Department of Ophthalmology, Hebei General Hospital
  • Received:2025-11-28 Revised:2025-12-25 Published:2026-07-15 Online:2026-07-13
  • Contact: E-mail:jiazhiyang20759@sina.com

Abstract:

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is one of the common ocular complications in diabetic patients, which can cause severe impairment of visual function. Among DR patients, diabetic macular edema (DME) is the most common cause of central vision impairment. Anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) therapy is currently the first-line treatment for DME. However, anti-VEGF therapy shows significant heterogenelty in treatment response, suggesting that ocular or systemic factors may be involved. At present, the analysis of relevant influencing factors has not been fully elucidated. This article reviews the ocular and systemic factors that contribute to the heterogeneous response to anti-VEGF treatment in DME patients.

Key words: diabetic retinopathy, macular edema, tomography, optical coherence, vascular endothelial growth factors, treatment response

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