2025/06/27 by Lisa Wanbon, Nadine Badry, Mário L de Lemos · 1 voice
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Medicine · #Digestive system and related health #Helicobacter pylori-related gastroenterology studies #Pharmaceutical studies and practices
paper · doi:10.1177/10781552251352203
openalex publication_date 2025/06/27 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/15
Lactose intolerance is quite common among people world-wide. Despite this, lactose is often used as a pharmaceutical excipient due to its pharmacologically inactive nature. We reviewed the literature to determine how much lactose can typically be tolerated by patients reporting a history of lactose intolerance and measured the amount of excipient in commonly used solid oral oncology dosage forms. We determined that most patients should be able to tolerate a significantly higher amount of lactose than that found in maximum daily doses of oncology tablets and capsules, based on our literature review and the measured amount of excipient in commonly used solid oral oncology dosage forms. If patients report gastrointestinal symptoms, adverse drug reactions and medical conditions should be considered as more likely causes than lactose intolerance. We created a flow chart for pharmacists to follow when dispensing oral medications to lactose intolerant patients. This chart may assist in patient management if the lactose content of a medication is questioned or if a patient reports gastrointestinal symptoms.