gallium (67 Ga) citrate

Absorption

The body generally handles Ga3+ as though it were ferric iron (Fe-III). However, gallium can not be reduced in vivo. Therefore, ferric ion is easily reduced and interacts with protoporphyrin IX to form heme, gallium remains bound to iron-transport proteins and carrier molecules.

The Uses of gallium (67 Ga) citrate

Diagnostic aid (radiopaque medium); radioactive agent.

Indications

Gallium Citrate Ga 67 Injection may be useful to demonstrate the presence and extent of Hodgkin's disease, lymphoma, and bronchogenic carcinoma. Positive gallium Ga-67 uptake in the absence of prior symptoms warrants follow-up as an indication of a potential disease state. Gallium Citrate Ga 67 Injection may be useful as an aid in detecting some acute inflammatory lesions.

Background

Gallium citrate Ga 67 is the citrate salt of the radioisotope gallium Ga 67. Although the mechanism is unknown, gallium Ga 67 concentrates in lysosomes and is bound to a soluble intracellular protein in certain viable primary and metastatic tumors and focal sites of inflammation, allowing scintigraphic localization. Ga-67 scintigraphy (GS) cannot differentiate between tumor and acute inflammation. [NCI Thesaurus]

Definition

ChEBI: Gallium Citrate (67 Ga) is a carbonyl compound.

Pharmacokinetics

It has been reported in the scientific literature that following intravenous injection, the highest tissue concentration of gallium Ga-67 - other than tumors and sites of infection - is the renal cortex. After the first day, the maximum concentration shifts to bone and lymph nodes and after the first week, to liver and spleen. Gallium Ga-67 is excreted relatively slowly from the body. The average whole body retention is 65 percent after seven days, with 26 percent having been excreted in the urine and 9 percent in the stools.

Metabolism

Not Available