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.
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.
