Abstract Objectives 17β-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 3 (17β-HSD3) deficiency is a rare 46XY disorder of sex development (DSD) of androgen biosynthesis. We aimed to describe the complexities in diagnosis, gender assignment, and the timing of irreversible surgical interventions in 17β-HSD3 deficiency. Case presentation We described three genetically confirmed cases of 46XY DSD due to 17β-HSD3 deficiency. All of them had female-appearing external genitalia, and the third case had well-developed breasts with clitoromegaly. The biochemical evaluation showed hCG-stimulated T/A ratios of 0.4 and 0.35 in Cases 1 and 2, respectively, and an unstimulated T/A ratio of 0.25 in Case 3. Molecular analysis revealed three different HSD17B3 variants: c.72C>A(p.Cys24Ter), c.764C>T(p.Ser255Leu), and c.607-1G>A(3’splice site) in the respective cases. Despite the female-appearing external genitalia in Case 1, the parents decided to rear the child as male, whereas Cases 2 and 3 retained a female gender identity. The first two cases were advised to have regular follow-up for gender dysphoria, while Case 3 was managed with injectable leuprolide depot and anti-androgens. Conclusions 17β-HSD3 deficiency remains a challenging 46 XY DSD due to its clinical heterogeneity and diverse molecular spectrum. This report adds to current molecular knowledge by reporting two novel variants in the HSD17B3 gene.
Sridhar et al. (Sun,) studied this question.