ABSTRACT: Background. Androgen receptor splice variant-7 (AR-V7) is a truncated form of the androgen receptor protein which lacks the ligand-binding domain, the target of enzalutamide and abiraterone, but remains constitutively active as a transcription factor. We hypothesized that detection of AR-V7 in circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from men with advanced prostate cancer would be associated with resistance to enzalutamide and abiraterone. Methods. We used quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase-chain-reaction (qRT-PCR) to interrogate CTCs for the presence or absence of AR-V7 from prospectively enrolled patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer initiating treatment with either enzalutamide or abiraterone. We examined associations between AR-V7 status and PSA response rates, PSA-progression-free-survival (PSA-PFS), clinical/radiographic-progression-free-survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS). Multivariable Cox regression analyses were performed to determine the independent effect of AR-V7 status on clinical outcomes. Results. Thirty-one enzalutamide-treated patients and thirty-one abiraterone-treated patients were enrolled, of which 38.7% and 19.4% had detectable AR-V7 from CTCs, respectively. Among men receiving enzalutamide, AR-V7–positive patients had inferior PSA response rates (0% vs 52.6%, P=0.004), PSA-PFS (median: 1.4 vs 6.0 months, P<0.001), PFS (median: 2.1 vs 6.1 months, P<0.001), and OS (median: 5.5 months vs not reached, P=0.002) compared to AR-V7–negative patients. Similarly, among men receiving abiraterone, AR-V7–positive patients had inferior PSA response rates (0% vs 68.0%, P=0.004), PSA-PFS (median: 1.3 months vs not reached, P<0.001), PFS (median: 2.3 months vs not reached, P<0.001), and OS (median: 10.6 months vs not reached, P=0.006). The negative prognostic impact of AR-V7 was maintained after adjusting for full-length-AR expression. Conclusions. Detection of AR-V7 in CTCs from patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer is associated with resistance to enzalutamide and abiraterone.