Dr. Klein on Gene Mutations in Prostate Cancer

Eric Klein, MD, professor of Surgery, Lerner College of Medicine, Cleveland Clinic, discusses gene mutations in patients with prostate cancer.

The 3-hydroxybutyrate steroid dehydrogenase gene is the master switch for converting precursors to testosterone and dihydrotestosterone into dihydrotestosterone. It has been discovered that some men are born with a single point mutation in that gene that makes their tumors more efficient at making dihydrotestosterone, which is what drives prostate cancer, Klein explains.

There is a clinical correlation that shows that men who are born with that mutation progress to metastatic castrate resistance faster and die at a higher rate than patients who don’t have that mutation.