Androgens are involved in
prostate cancer (PCa) cell growth. Genes involved in
androgen metabolism mediate key steps in sex
steroid metabolism. This study attempted to investigate whether single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the
androgen metabolism pathway are associated with PCa risk in low incidence Asian ethnic groups. We genotyped 172 Malaysian subjects for
cytochrome P450 family 17 (CYP17A1), steroid-5-alpha-reductase,
polypeptide 1 and 2 (SRD5A1 and SRD5A2), and
insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) genes of the
androgen metabolism pathway and assessed the
testosterone,
dihydrotestosterone and
IGF-1 levels. SNPs in the CYP17A1, SRD5A1, SRD5A2, and
IGF-1 genes were genotyped using real-time polymerase chain reaction. Although we did not find significant association between SNPs analysed in this study with PCa risk, we observed however, significant association between
androgen levels and the
IGF-1 and several SNPs. Men carrying the GG genotype for SNP rs1004467 (CYP17A1) had significantly elevated
testosterone (P = 0.012) and
dihydrotestosterone (DHT) levels (P = 0.024) as compared to carriers of the A allele. The rs518673 of the SRD5A1 was associated with
prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels. Our findings suggest CYP17A1 rs1004467 SNP is associated with
testosterone and DHT levels indicating the importance of this gene in influencing
androgen levels in the circulatory system of PCa patients, hence could be used as a potential marker in PCa assessment.