Chemotherapy is a recognized cause of morphological alterations to the proximal intestine.
Lactose malabsorption, the functional consequence of a small intestinal enzymatic derangement, has been shown to play an important role in causing gastrointestinal symptoms in subjects receiving
chemotherapy. To establish a rational basis for the exclusion of
lactose from the diet and to reduce the risk of developing gastrointestinal symptoms, we conducted a study of
lactose absorption in 20 children during
cancer chemotherapy. Because
lactose is an important nutritional
sugar, the tolerance of
lactose provided by yogurt was examined.
Lactose absorption was investigated by a
hydrogen breath test (BT) after oral ingestion of milk (250 ml) containing physiological doses of
lactose (12 g). The effect of yogurt supplementation was also tested by BT after meals of yogurt (450 g) also containing physiological doses of
lactose (12.1 g). In 11 children,
lactose malabsorption was detected by BT during the study before any gastrointestinal symptom revealed this status. Of these 11 children, no gastrointestinal discomfort developed in five receiving a
lactose-excluded diet. In contrast, in the six children not restricted in
lactose intake, gastrointestinal symptoms were observed 4 to 13 weeks after
lactose malabsorption was detected by BT. The findings of our study suggested the usefulness of dietary supplementation with yogurt, a
lactose-containing food, in children who developed
lactose malabsorption. In fact, all
lactose-malabsorbent children showed good
lactose absorption and tolerance when tested by yogurt BT.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)