How does the gallium scan work?
When gallium is injected into your body, it attaches to proteins in your blood. Then it travels through your body and gathers in places where there is inflammation or infection. It takes a couple of days for the gallium to circulate and settle. Gallium sends out radioactive gamma rays, which a gamma camera can detect. A gamma camera takes pictures and sends them to a computer. The computer images show different colors (for example, red may mean a lot or gallium and blue may mean none). Then a radiologist can examine the images to find problems.
How do I prepare for a gallium scan?
A gallium test usually doesn’t require any special preparation, but your healthcare provider will give you instructions if needed. Tell your healthcare provider if you’re pregnant or might be pregnant before having a gallium scan. Exposure to radiation can hurt a developing fetus. Also, tell your healthcare provider if you’re breastfeeding. You may have to use formula until the gallium is out of your body. Your healthcare provider may ask you to take a laxative before the test. It will make you go to the bathroom to clear waste (poop) out of your bowel. Emptying your bowel can help make the pictures clearer.
What can I expect during a gallium scan?
A gallium test usually requires two or three visits to the nuclear medicine department. During the first visit, the radiologist will inject gallium into a vein in your arm. During the second visit, one or two days later, the nuclear medicine team will:
- Have you remove your clothes and wear a hospital gown.
- Ask you to take off any metal, such as jewelry.
- Instruct you to lie down on a table.
- Move the camera around your body slowly and closely to take pictures. (The camera doesn’t release radiation; it just searches for radiation from the gallium in your body.)
- Tell you to move into different positions and hold still.
The process usually takes about an hour. The team may ask you to come back again in a day or two for a third visit to repeat the pictures.
What can I expect after the test?
You’ll go home the same day as the test. The small amount of radioactive material in your body will decrease over the next few days. It will leave your body through urine and stool (pee and poop). To protect other people from the radioactive material, be careful when going to the bathroom:
- Carefully clean up any splashes.
- Flush the toilet twice.
- Wash your hands thoroughly.
Your healthcare provider may ask you to drink a lot of fluids to help your body rid itself of the radioactive agent faster. If you are travelling within three months of a gallium scan, you may need a special letter from your healthcare provider. Some airports have very sensitive detectors that can detect any trace of gallium left in your body.
What are the risks of a gallium scan?
Rarely, the injection can cause an allergic reaction, such as a skin rash or nausea.
FAQs
A gallium scan is a multiple‑day procedure that is used to diagnose, stage and follow-up on malignant tumors, including lymphoma, leukemia, lung cancer, melanoma and sarcoma.
What is the purpose of a gallium scan? ›
A gallium scan identifies the cells that are dividing most quickly in your body. It can help detect some cancer cells. It can also help show cells that are rapidly reproducing or responding to an infection somewhere in your body. People with lymphoma (cancer of the lymph system) may need gallium scans.
What medical conditions are treated by gallium? ›
In clinical medicine, radioactive gallium and stable gallium nitrate are used as diagnostic and therapeutic agents in cancer and disorders of calcium and bone metabolism.
What are the side effects of gallium injections? ›
Check with your doctor right away if you have chest tightness, cough, difficulty swallowing, dizziness, fast heartbeat, hives, itching, skin rash, large, hive-like swelling on face, eyelids, lips, tongue, throat, hands, legs, feet, or sex organs, puffiness or swelling of the eyelids or around the eyes, face, lips, or ...
How much does a gallium scan cost? ›
Procedure Details
On MDsave, the cost of a Gallium Scan ranges from $1,316 to $3,441.
What is the main purpose of gallium? ›
Common uses for gallium include the production of brilliant mirrors and in liquid thermometers. In the form of gallium arsenide (GaAs), this compound is used to produce LEDs for numerous devices such as smartphones and calculators, because it has the ability to convert electricity directly to light.
What does gallium do to the body? ›
* Gallium is a CORROSIVE CHEMICAL and contact can severely irritate and burn the skin and eyes with possible eye damage. * Breathing Gallium can irritate the nose and throat causing coughing and wheezing. * Gallium may damage the liver and kidneys.
Is gallium good or bad? ›
Pure gallium is not a harmful substance for humans to touch. It has been handled many times only for the simple pleasure of watching it melt by the heat emitted from a human hand. However, it is known to leave a stain on hands.
How expensive is gallium? ›
At today's price of $889.30 per kg, gallium changed +17.66% since Jan 1st 2024, and +38.78% since the start of last year. It is up +110.39% compared to its price of $422.70 per kg on Jan 1st 2021 and increased +198.22% since Jan 1st 2020 (in comparison, the S&P 500 is up +60.84% over the same period).
What are the toxic effects of gallium? ›
A toxic chemical may cause acute effects, chronic effects or both. For example, if you inhale solvents on the job, you may experience acute effects such as headaches and dizziness which go away at the end of the day. Over months, you may begin to develop chronic effects such as liver and kidney damage.
No special preparation is required for this scan. You can eat and drink normally. Please refrain from drinking alcohol for 4 hours prior to the appointment time. How is a Gallium DOTATATE PET/CT scan carried out?
Is gallium a carcinogen? ›
In this monograph, IARC concluded that gallium arsenide is carcinogenic to humans (Group 1).
Why is gallium injected into veins? ›
The gallium scan is a type of nuclear scan involving radioactive gallium which helps determine whether a patient has inflammation in the lungs. Gallium is injected in a vein and a series of x-rays are taken to identify where the gallium has accumulated in the lungs.
What is the best scan for inflammation? ›
A gallium scan is a type of nuclear scan that can find cancer, infection or inflammation. The test is done over two to three appointments at the hospital. A gallium scan uses a small amount of radioactive substance, but it's painless and safe.
What kind of scan shows inflammation? ›
An MRI scan can be used to detect cancer, benign tumors, internal bleeding, inflammation, and more, but just because your doctor has recommended you get an MRI scan does not mean you are guaranteed to receive a diagnosis for one of those conditions.
Is a gallium scan the same as a CT scan? ›
As a single technique, Ga-67 scan cannot substitute for CT scan or MR in staging patients with Hodgkin's disease. Nevertheless, Ga-67 scan has an important role in defining complete remission after treatment and therefore in planning subsequent treatment.
Which organ should show the greatest uptake on a normal gallium scan? ›
Normal Scintigraphy
Subsequently, biological clearance is through the large bowel. By 48–72 hours, the kidneys are normally only faintly visualized. The organ with the greatest Ga-67 uptake at 48-hour imaging is the liver. Lesser uptake is seen in the spleen.
What does a gallium-68 PET scan show? ›
This scan is done to diagnose neuroendocrine tumors, which involve both the nervous system and the endocrine glands.
What should I do before a gallium scan? ›
A gallium scan is a diagnostic procedure which is different to an x-ray and other types of scans. It involves an injection of a small amount of radioactive liquid and imaging with a special camera. How do you prepare for this scan? There is no preparation for this scan.
