Intersection of Phenotypic Plasticity and Anoikis Enhances Therapeutic Vulnerability in Prostate Cancer.

During cancer metastasis, tumor cells survive in circulation by acquiring resistance to anoikis. Restoring vulnerability of cancer cells to anoikis can impair metastatic colonization, minimize treatment resistance and tumor recurrence in patients. A compelling body of evidence has identified strategies for the development of effective inhibitors that can block survival pathways such as FAK, PI3 K/AKT, MAPK and integrin signaling to prevent prostate cancer cells from leaving the primary tumor/site and/or to impair their colonization at secondary sites. Transcriptomic profiling recently identified anoikis-centered genes, including CDKN1A, NEDD9, CFL1, and JAM2, that may have potential prognostic value in prostate cancer progression and may also contribute to the emergence of therapeutic resistance to antiandrogens and taxane chemotherapy. Direct cytoskeletal remodeling by cofilin, a transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) effector is linked to phenotypic plasticity changes. NEDD9 causes cytoskeletal dynamics through signaling pathways and it is correlated with tumor aggressiveness. CDKN1A affects cell cycle regulation, and JAM2 influences cell adhesion. This review interrogates the current evidence in the literature on the cellular drivers of anoikis resistance, intersecting with phenotypic plasticity in the prostate tumor microenvironment (TME), towards determination of the underlying molecular mechanisms that can be exploited at the translational level for therapeutic applications. The identification and subsequent validation of novel anoikis-resistance based signatures can be of potential value as predictive markers of therapy resistance and tumor recurrence in patients with advanced prostate cancer.