The androgen backdoor pathway is a collective name for all metabolic pathways where clinically relevant androgens are synthesized with roundabout of testosterone as an intermediate product. Initially described as pathway where 5α-reduction of 17α-hydroxyprogesterone ultimately leads to 5α-dihydrotestosterone, several other pathways have been since then discovered that lead to 11-oxyandrogens which are potent agonists of the androgen receptors. A backdoor pathway is an alternative to the conventional, canonical androgenic pathway that involves testosterone.