MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Masaki Shiota MD, PhD Department of Urology Graduate School of Medical Sciences Kyushu University Fukuoka , Japan MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response:  3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase-1 encoded by HSD3B1 is a rate-limiting enzyme required for all pathways of dihydrotestosterone synthesis, as well as converts abiraterone into Δ4-abiraterone (D4A), which blocks multiple steroidogenic enzymes and antagonizes the androgen receptor. A mutation (1245A>C) in HSD3B1 is shown to be resistant to proteasomal degradation, causing substantial accumulation of this enzyme and gain-of-function. Although the HSD3B1 (1245C) allele can be acquired by mutation, germ-line single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP; rs1047303) is also known to exist. Then, in this study, we investigated the significance of missense polymorphism in HSD3B1 gene among men treated with primary ADT or abiraterone. The results showed men carrying variant allele showed higher risk of progression in primary androgen-deprivation therapy, but vulnerable to abiraterone treatment. (more…)