Impact of a genetic variant in CYP3A4 on risk and clinical presentation of prostate cancer among white and African-American men.

Genes involved in androgen metabolism are strong candidates for having an important role in the pathogenesis of prostate cancer. CYP3A4, a protein in the cytochrome P-450 supergene family, facilitates the oxidative deactivation of testosterone. In previous studies, patients with the G variant of a genetic polymorphism in CYP3A4 had prostate cancers with clinically aggressive characteristics at diagnosis.