Lactose absorption in patients with ovarian cancer

To determine whether lactase persistence might be related to ovarian cancer risk, in 1994-1995 the authors assessed the capacity to digest lactose by measuring breath hydrogen production after oral administration of lactose i n 50 women with ovarian cancer and 100 healthy controls. All of the women c ame from Sassari (Sardinia), Italy, an area where the population has a high frequency of lactose malabsorption. Thirty percent of cases were lactose a bsorbers, as compared with 15% of controls. The odds ratio for ovarian canc er among lactose absorbers was 2.51 (95% confidence interval 1.10-5.68). Th ese results provide some support for a role of lactose ingestion and galact ose cytotoxicity in the pathogenesis of ovarian cancer.