Although the Lac signal at 1.3 ppm overlapped with large TG resonance in the liver [16] and could not be separated from TG peak in our data, we speculate that Lac contributed to the difference in metabolic patterns between HCC and cirrhotic liver, as supported by a recent in vivo 1H-MRS study that showed a disease-specific Lac+TG peak at long TE in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease [9]. This evidence concerns the gene LCT and alcoholic fatty liver disease.