@article{3077932,
    title = "PIM-1 is overexpressed at a high frequency in circulating tumor cells from metastatic castration- resistant prostate cancer patients",
    author = "Markou, A. and Tzanikou, E. and Strati, A. and Zavridou, M. and Mastoraki, S. and Bournakis, E. and Lianidou, E.",
    journal = "Blood cancer journal",
    year = "2020",
    volume = "12",
    number = "5",
    publisher = "MDPI AG",
    doi = "10.3390/cancers12051188",
    keywords = "abiraterone;  androgen receptor;  docetaxel;  enzalutamide;  epithelial cell adhesion molecule;  protein androgen receptor splice variant 7;  protein kinase Pim 1;  unclassified drug, Article;  blood sampling;  carcinogenesis;  castration resistant prostate cancer;  cell fractionation;  cell isolation;  circulating tumor cell;  clinical article;  cohort analysis;  controlled study;  gene overexpression;  genetic transcription;  human;  human cell;  human tissue;  male;  metastasis;  molecularly targeted therapy;  oncogene;  PIM 1 gene;  real time polymerase chain reaction",
    abstract = "PIM-1 is an oncogene involved in cell cycle progression, cell growth, cell survival and therapy resistance, activated in many types of cancer, and is now considered as a very promising target for cancer therapy. We report for the first time that PIM-1 is overexpressed in circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer patients (mCRPC). We first developed and validated a highly sensitive RT-qPCR assay for quantification of PIM-1 transcripts. We further applied this assay to study PIM-1 expression in EpCAM(+) CTC fraction isolated from 64 peripheral blood samples of 50 mCRPC patients. CTC enumeration in all samples was performed using the FDA-cleared CellSearch® system. PIM-1 overexpression was detected in 24/64 (37.5%) cases, while in 20/24 (83.3%) cases that were positive for PIM-1 expression, at least one CTC/7.5 mL PB was detected in the CellSearch®. Our data indicate that PIM-1 overexpression is observed at high frequency in CTCs from mCRPC patients and this finding, in combination with androgen receptor splice variant 7 (AR-V7) expression in CTCs, suggest its potential role as a very promising target for cancer therapy. We strongly believe that PIM-1 overexpression in EpCAM(+) CTC fraction merits to be further evaluated and validated as a non-invasive circulating tumor biomarker in a large and well-defined patient cohort with mCRPC. © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland."
}