{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,14]],"date-time":"2026-07-14T07:16:48Z","timestamp":1784013408095,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":29,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,23]],"date-time":"2026-01-23T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1769126400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000053","name":"National Institutes of Health P30 Core","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["P30-EY025585"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["P30-EY025585"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000053","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100001818","name":"Research to Prevent Blindness","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100001818","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJMS"],"abstract":"<jats:p>This structured narrative review compared the efficacy, durability, and safety of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) agents and intravitreal corticosteroids for the treatment of diabetic macular edema (DME), with the aim of identifying patient- and disease-specific factors to guide individualize therapy. A comprehensive search of PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, and ClinicalTrials.gov was conducted for studies published between January 2009 and November 2025, including randomized controlled trials, meta-analyses, and large observational cohorts with at least six months of follow-up. Visual acuity, anatomical outcomes, treatment burden, durability, and safety were extracted, and evidence quality was assessed using the GRADE framework. Eleven studies encompassing 1341 eyes were included. Anti-VEGF therapy consistently produced greater improvements in best-corrected visual acuity, particularly in treatment-na\u00efve eyes and in patients with worse baseline vision, whereas corticosteroids achieved larger reductions in central macular thickness and significantly reduced injection burden because of longer durability. However, corticosteroid therapy was associated with higher rates of intraocular pressure elevation and cataract progression. In pseudophakic patients and in chronic or refractory DME, functional and anatomical outcomes were generally comparable between the two therapeutic classes. Combination therapy resulted in the greatest anatomical improvement but at the cost of increased ocular adverse events. Overall, anti-VEGF agents remain the preferred first-line treatment for most patients with DME owing to superior visual outcomes and a more favorable safety profile, while corticosteroids represent valuable alternatives in pseudophakic eyes, chronic or anti-VEGF\u2013refractory DME, and cases with prominent inflammatory features, provided that careful monitoring for ocular adverse events is maintained.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms27031142","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,23]],"date-time":"2026-01-23T09:16:59Z","timestamp":1769159819000},"page":"1142","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Therapeutic Outcomes of Anti-VEGF Agents Versus Corticosteroids in Diabetic Macular Edema: A Comparative Review"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"27","author":[{"given":"Saranya","family":"Sanaka","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Medicine, Northeast Ohio Medical University, 4209 St. Rt. 44, Rootstown, OH 44272, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3115-8930","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Minzhong","family":"Yu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University Hospitals Eye Institute, Case Western Reserve University, 11100 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA"},{"name":"Cole Eye Institute, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, 2022 E 105th St., Cleveland, OH 44106, USA"},{"name":"Department of Ophthalmology, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, 9501 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,23]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Wallsh, J.O., and Gallemore, R.P. 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