Disease relevance of gallium

• This review describes several therapeutic applications, such as the use of platinum complexes in cancer chemotherapy, gold compounds in the treatment of arthritis, gallium in hypercalcemia, bismuth in anti-ulcer medication, and sodium nitroprusside in hypertension [1].
• However, we investigated the usefulness of whole-body gallium 67 scanning, compared with physical examination, bone, liver and brain scans, and bone marrow aspirate and biopsy, in detecting metastases outside the chest in 47 patients with small cell lung cancer [2].
• Psoas abscess localization by gallium scan in aplastic anemia [3].
• A 10-year-old boy with aplastic anemia and severe leukopenia and granulocytopenia had a psoas abscess diagnosed by gallium scan [3].
• Later, in a pilot study, we treated 10 patients who had cancer-related hypercalcemia with gallium nitrate administered by continuous infusion [4].

Psychiatry related information on gallium

• Patient self-assessment of bone pain showed that seven of 12 gallium nitrate-treated patients rated themselves as experiencing major reductions in bone pain, compared with zero of seven patients who were observed [5].
• A case of gallium localization within the breast occurred secondary to intravenous drug abuse [6].

High impact information on gallium

• Ultralong beltlike (or ribbonlike) nanostructures (so-called nanobelts) were successfully synthesized for semiconducting oxides of zinc, tin, indium, cadmium, and gallium by simply evaporating the desired commercial metal oxide powders at high temperatures [7].
• Iron must also be delivered, since blockade of the siderophore with gallium inhibits the rescue from ischemia [8].
• Treatment of advanced transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder with continuous-infusion gallium nitrate [9].
• Iron (Fe) depletion with anti-transferrin (Tf) receptor monoclonal antibodies (MAbs), Fe chelators, or gallium (Ga) salts inhibits in vitro and in vivo growth of tumor cells [10].
• Because gallium has therapeutic potential, the effects of transferrin-gallium on leukemic cell proliferation, transferrin receptor expression, and cellular iron utilization were studied [11].

Chemical compound and disease context of gallium

• We conclude that the concurrent use of angiotensin-converting enzyme assay and gallium scan is of value in the diagnosis of sarcoidosis [12].
• Angiotensin-I-converting enzyme and gallium scan in noninvasive evaluation of sarcoidosis [12].
• Amiodarone pulmonary toxicity was diagnosed in 33 of the 573 patients (5.8%), based on symptoms and new chest radiographic abnormalities (32 of 33 patients) and supported by abnormal pulmonary biopsy (13 of 14 patients), low pulmonary diffusion capacity (DLCO) (nine of 13 patients), and/or abnormal gallium lung scan (11 of 16 patients) [13].
• With further support of these findings, gallium citrate Ga 67 may become a valuable tool in both diagnosis and follow-up of noninfectious interstitial nephritis [14].
• PURPOSE: To compare fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (PET) and gallium scanning with each other and with conventional staging, for patients with Hodgkin's disease or non-Hodgkin's lymphoma [15].

Biological context of gallium

• Finally, the way in which gallium salts are currently being investigated as chemotherapeutic agents should be reevaluated in light of our findings concerning transferrin-gallium effects on cellular proliferation [16].
• Treatment with gallium nitrate (100 mg/m2 daily for 5 days, intravenously in 5% glucose) significantly reduced serum calcium, serum phosphate, urinary calcium, and the ratio of maximum tubular reabsorption of phosphate to glomerular filtration rate in each patient [17].
• Though bone is a target organ for gallium, the kinetics, sites, and effects of gallium accumulation in bone are not known [18].
• After short-term in vivo administration of gallium nitrate to rats, trace (nanogram) amounts of gallium preferentially localized to the metabolically active regions in the metaphysis as well as the endosteal and periosteal surfaces of diaphyseal bone, regions where new bone formation and modeling were occurring [18].
• Substitution and dimerization of the phthalocyanine monomer resulted in significant reductions in the saturation energy density of the material displaying clear evidence of the usefulness of structurally modifying the gallium phthalocyanine unit [19].

Anatomical context of gallium

• At comparable time periods, tissue-to-plasma ratios of gallium were less than 1 in skeletal muscle and brain [20].
• In fact, several normal tissues, particularly kidney cortex and bone marrow, concentrated gallium greatly in excess of tumors [20].
• MEASUREMENTS: History, physical examination, chest radiograph, quantitative gallium lung scanning, respiratory function tests, bronchoalveolar lavage, and lavage lymphocyte subset analysis [21].
• Sensitivity of gallium identification of tumor involving peripheral lymph nodes and soft tissues, abdomen, mediastinum, and osseous sites was 68% to 100%; overall sensitivity of this technique is 82% with specificity of 99% in 570 organ system assessments [22].
• Abnormal gallium scan patterns of the salivary gland in pulmonary sarcoidosis [23].

Associations of gallium with other chemical compounds

• Agents that interfere with cellular iron (Fe) incorporation inhibit tumor cell proliferation, including metals that bind to transferrin (Tf) such as gallium (Ga) or indium (In) and Fe chelators such as desferrioxamine (DFO) [24].
• Ferric chloride stimulated Tf-independent gallium uptake [25].
• Phase II trial of vinblastine, ifosfamide, and gallium combination chemotherapy in metastatic urothelial carcinoma [26].
• Furthermore, the combined effects of fludarabine and gallium on cell growth may be of clinical relevance, since both agents are active against lymphoid cancers [27].
• The growth inhibitory effects of gallium on a murine and human B-cell line were studied using two different serum-free culture systems: (a) ferric citrate medium containing 500 microM iron and (b) transferrin medium containing 5 micrograms/ml of iron-saturated transferrin (0.125 microM iron) [28].

Gene context of gallium

• According to this view, a tumor-associated TF receptor is the functional unit responsible for the affinity of gallium for certain neoplasms [29].
• After 59Fe-Tf uptake, R cells released greater amounts of 59Fe than gallium-sensitive (S) cells [30].
• Transferrin receptor-dependent and -independent iron transport in gallium-resistant human lymphoid leukemic cells [30].
• Neuroendocrine tumor targeting: study of novel gallium-labeled somatostatin radiopeptides in a rat pancreatic tumor model [31].
• Because of similarities in the transport of gallium and iron and the use of (67)Ga scanning in lymphoid malignancies, we examined the effect of HFE expression on (67)Ga uptake [32].

Analytical, diagnostic and therapeutic context of gallium

• In each case whole-body scanning with gallium 67 was inferior to the other methods used to detect extrathoracic tumor deposits [2].
• This indicates the need for more extensive studies of the physiologic disposition of pharmacologic (antitumor) doses of gallium in humans and appropriate animal models [20].
• Four patients who developed pneumonitis after unilateral thoracic irradiation for carcinoma of the breast were studied with bronchoalveolar lavage, gallium scan of the lung, and respiratory function tests [33].
• His chest roentgenogram was normal, but pulmonary function tests showed impaired diffusion capacity and a gallium scan showed marked uptake in the lungs [34].
• No statistical differences existed between irradiated and unirradiated sides of the chest in either lavage or gallium lung scan studies [21].

References