Pembrolizumab-induced fulminant type 1 diabetes with C-peptide persistence at first referral

Clinical outcomes of immune checkpoint inhibitor diabetes mellitus at a comprehensive cancer center

Introduction: Immune checkpoint inhibitor-associated diabetes mellitus (ICI-DM) is a rare adverse event. In this study, we characterize clinical outcomes of patients with ICI-DM and evaluate survival impact of this complication on melanoma patients. Research design & methods: We conducted a retrospective review of 76 patients diagnosed with ICI-DM from April 2014 to December 2020. Results: 68% of patients presented in diabetic ketoacidosis, 16% had readmissions for hyperglycemia, and hypoglycemia occurred in 70% of patients after diagnosis. Development of ICI-DM did not impact overall survival or progression-free survival in melanoma patients. Conclusion: Development of ICI-DM is associated with long-term insulin dependence and pancreatic atrophy; the use of diabetes technology in this patient population can help improve glycemic control.

Clinical and immunological characteristics of PD-1 associated fulminant type 1 diabetes mellitus

OBJECTIVES

Programmed death 1 (PD-1) associated fulminant type 1 diabetes (PFD) is a rare acute and critical in internal medicine, and its clinical characteristics are still unclear. This study aims to analyze the clinical characteristics of PFD patients to improve clinical diagnosis and treatment.

METHODS

We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 10 patients with PFD admitted to the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, combined with the data of 66 patients reported in the relevant literature, analyzed and summarized their clinical and immunological characteristics, and compared the patients with PFD with different islet autoantibody status.

RESULTS

Combined with our hospital and literature data, a total of 76 patients with PFD were reported, with the age of (60.9±12.1) years old, 60.0% male and body mass index of (22.1±5.2) kg/m2. In 76 patients, the most common tumors were lung cancer (43.4%) and melanoma (22.4%). Among PD-1 inhibitors, the most common drugs are nivolumab (37.5%) and pembrolizumab (38.9%). 82.2% of PFD patients developed diabetes ketoacidosis. The median onset time from PD-1 related inhibitor treatment to hyperglycemia was 95 (36.0, 164.5) d, and the median treatment cycle before the onset of diabetes was 6 (2.3, 8.0) cycles. 26% (19/73) of PFD patients had positive islet autoantibodies, and the proportion of ketoacidosis in the positive group was significantly higher than that in the negative group (100.0% vs 75.0%, P<0.05). The onset time and infusion times of diabetes after PD-1 inhibitor treatment in the autoantibody positive group were significantly lower than those in the autoantibody negative group (28.5 d vs 120.0 d; 2 cycles vs 7 cycles, both P<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

After initiation of tumor immunotherapy, it is necessary to be alert to the occurrence of adverse reactions of PFD, and the onset of PFD with islet autoantibody positive is faster and more serious than that of patients with autoantibodies negative. Detection of islet autoantibodies and blood glucose before and after treatment with PD-1 inhibitors is of great value for early warning and prediction of PFD.

PD-1 inhibitor-associated type 1 diabetes: A case report and systematic review

Objective

This study aimed to summarize the clinical characteristics of programmed death receptor 1 (PD-1) inhibitor-associated type 1 diabetes so as to improve the ability of clinicians to correctly diagnose and treat it.

Methods

We reported a case of a 70-year-old woman with gastric cancer who developed hyperosmolar hyperglycemic coma during camrelizumab (a PD-1 inhibitor) treatment and was diagnosed with PD-1 inhibitor-associated type 1 diabetes. We conducted a systematic review of 74 case reports of type 1 diabetes associated with PD-1 inhibitor therapy published before June 2022.

Results

The patient developed type 1 diabetes with hyperosmolar hyperglycemic coma after receiving camrelizumab chemotherapy for 6 months (9 cycles). We searched 69 English articles comprising 75 patients, all of whom had been treated with a PD-1 inhibitor (nivolumab or pembrolizumab) and progressed to diabetes after an average of 6.11 (1–28) cycles. Nivolumab combined with ipilimumab (a cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated protein 4 inhibitor) had the shortest onset (4.47 cycles on average). A total of 76% (57/75) of patients developed diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) at onset, and 50.67% (38/75) of patients had C-peptide <0.1 ng/mL. Most of the patients were tested for insulin autoantibodies, with a positive rate of 33.33% (23/69); of these, 86.96% (20/23) were tested for glutamate decarboxylase antibody and 46.67% (35/75) were tested for human leukocyte antigen (HLA). HLA-DR4 was the most common type.

Conclusions

The progression of type 1 diabetes induced by PD-1 inhibitors is relatively rapid. Islet failure often occurs when detected, seriously endangering patients' lives. Patients treated with PD-1 inhibitors should closely monitor their plasma glucose level during treatment to detect, diagnose, and treat diabetes on time.

Sintilimab induced diabetic ketoacidosis in a patient with small cell lung cancer: A case report and literature review

RATIONALE

Sintilimab is a novel programmed cell death receptor-1 (PD-1) inhibitor approved in the treatment of classical Hodgkin's lymphoma and undergoing clinical trials for various malignancies. As a PD-1 inhibitor, sintilimab is known to cause autoimmune adverse events similar to other PD-1 inhibitors. Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is a rare but severe adverse event of this therapy.

PATIENT CONCERNS

We report a case of a 59-year-old man who developed DKA after 5 doses of sintilimab for small cell lung cancer. His fasting glycemia level was 14.07 mmol/L, urine ketone bodies were 4+, arterial blood pH was 7.271, bicarbonate was 12.3 mmol/L, and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) was 7.4%. Extended investigations revealed that fasting C-peptide was undetectable (<0.003 nmol/L).

DIAGNOSIS

These laboratory investigations supported the diagnosis of fulminant type 1 diabetes mellitus, but no β-cell related antibodies were positive.

INTERVENTIONS

After remission of DKA, he was treated with insulin therapy to acquire a normalization of glycemia and the disappearance of symptoms.

OUTCOMES

Sintilimab was withheld after 6 cycles and was converted to durvalumab to sustain the therapeutic effect.

LESSONS

This case and associated literature review illustrate the importance of educating and monitoring patients who start PD-1 inhibitor therapy regarding this potentially life-threatening complication.

Immunotherapy-Associated Pancreatic Adverse Events: Current Understanding of Their Mechanism, Diagnosis, and Management

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) such as anti-programmed death-1 (PD-1) and its ligand PD-L1 and anti-cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA-4) monoclonal antibodies, are involved in T cell-mediated immune response augmentation and promote anti-tumor immunity. Cancer patients treated with combination of immunotherapy, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and targeted therapy exhibit superior clinical outcomes and tolerance compared with patients treated with monotherapies. However, immutherapy is associated with several concomitant immune-related adverse events (irAEs). For instance, IrAEs interferes with function of gastrointestinal tract, endocrine, dermatological, nervous system and musculoskeletal systems. ICIs-associated pancreatic injury might causes decrease in endocrine and exocrine pancreatic function, resulting in metabolic and nutritional disorders. Clinicians who administer immune checkpoint inhibitors to cancer patients are diagnosed with hyperglycemia, abdominal pain and steatorrhea. Currently, the precise mechanism of ICIs-associated pancreatic injury has not been fully explored. This paper summarizes incidence, diagnosis, clinical characteristics, potential mechanisms, and treatment management patterns of ICIs-associated pancreatic AEs based on previous studies. In addition, possible management approaches of these adverse effects are presented in this paper. in the findings summarized in this paper lay a basis for management of ICIs-associated pancreatic AEs and expanding future immunotherapy applications.

Fulminant type 1 diabetes: recent research progress and future prospects

To clarify the clinical and etiological characteristics of fulminant type 1 diabetes, we reviewed data from patients who had developed type 1 diabetes following anti-programmed cell death 1/programmed cell death ligand 1 (anti-PD-1/PD-L1) therapy, and research on pancreatic beta cells derived from induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells from patients with fulminant type 1 diabetes. As determined from the disease classifications and clinical and genetic characteristics, anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapy-related type 1 diabetes includes both fulminant type 1 diabetes and acute-onset type 1 diabetes. Using insulin-positive cells derived from iPS cells, beta-cell fragility to inflammatory cytokines, but not its regeneration failure, was observed in fulminant type 1 diabetes. Moreover, severe hyperglycemia was reported as a risk factor of sudden death or cardiac arrest at disease onset, diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging was suggested as an additional tool for making a diagnosis, and the CSAD/lnc-ITGB7-1 locus was genetically associated with fulminant type 1 diabetes. To fully understand fulminant type 1 diabetes, it is important to clarify the molecular mechanisms step by step through multifaceted approaches such as through analyses of the genetic factors, clinical features, histological findings, and cell biology. The careful and detailed study of patients is a great means for clarifying the etiology and pathophysiology of the disease.