JM. Chiang, AR. Lai, M. Anderson and RJ. Rushakoff (2020). SEVERE INSULIN RESISTANCE WITH DIABETIC KETOACIDOSIS AFTER BRENTUXIMAB TREATMENT. AACE clinical case reports, 6(2), e98-e100. https://doi.org/10.4158/ACCR-2019-0435

PubMed 32524020

[Abstract]
OBJECTIVE: To increase awareness of unusual inflammatory and other responses including severe insulin resistance (IR) associated with the use of targeted immunotherapies such as brentuximab.

METHODS: We report the case of a man without any previous diagnosis of diabetes who developed diabetic ketoacidosis complicated by severe IR (unresponsive to >600 units of intravenous insulin per hour) after receiving brentuximab for Hodgkin lymphoma.

RESULTS: Autoantibodies to the insulin receptor were not detected in the patient's serum, thus excluding a diagnosis of type B IR.

CONCLUSION: We hypothesize that brentuximab administration led to a rare reaction leading to systemic cytokine release with extreme IR in our patient.