In recent study led by CMM Assistant Professor Noel Warfel, PhD, researchers identified PIM kinase expression as a novel mechanism of resistance to anti-angiogenic agents. Using models of prostate and colon cancer, they show that PIM is upregulated following treatment with anti-angiogenic therapies, which reduces the ability of these drugs to disrupt tumor vasculature. Moreover, combined inhibition of PIM and VEGF produces a synergistic anti-tumor response characterized by decreased proliferation, reduced tumor vasculature, and reduced metastasis. These findings, published in Clinical Cancer Research, show that targeting PIM kinase activity is a promising strategy to combat hypoxia-mediated therapeutic resistance. http://clincancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/early/2017/10/28/1078-0432.CCR-17-1318
