13494-90-1

white; crystal(s) powder(s) [MER06]

Regulator (calcium).

Ganite (Genta).

White crystals.

Deliquescent. Water soluble.

Oxidizing agents, such as GALLIUM NITRATE, can react with reducing agents to generate heat and products that may be gaseous (causing pressurization of closed containers). The products may themselves be capable of further reactions (such as combustion in the air). The chemical reduction of materials in this group can be rapid or even explosive, but often requires initiation (heat, spark, catalyst, addition of a solvent). Explosive mixtures of inorganic oxidizing agents with reducing agents often persist unchanged for long periods if initiation is prevented. Such systems are typically mixtures of solids, but may involve any combination of physical states. Some inorganic oxidizing agents are salts of metals that are soluble in water; dissolution dilutes but does not nullify the oxidizing power of such materials. Organic compounds, in general, have some reducing power and can in principle react with compounds in this class. Actual reactivity varies greatly with the identity of the organic compound. Inorganic oxidizing agents can react violently with active metals, cyanides, esters, and thiocyanates.

Flash point data for GALLIUM NITRATE are not available, but GALLIUM NITRATE is probably combustible.

Gallium nitrate, initially developed as an anticancer agent, was introduced by Fujisawa as an orphan drug for the treatment of cancer-related hypercalcemia and bone metastases that do not respond to adequate hydration. The compound acts specifically on bone by inhibiting calcium resorption and also possibly by stimulating bone formation. Compared with calcitonin and etidronate, gallium nitrate is more potent and substantially longer acting. Other potential uses could be in the treatment of osteoporosis and Paget’s disease.

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (U.S.A.)

core: gallium
reagent type: catalyst

In clinical trials, gallium nitrate has proved to be highly active as an antitumour agent especially against non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and bladder cancer. The cytotoxic activity of gallium nitrate has been demonstrated as single agent and as part of combination therapy, for example, together with fluorouracil. Gallium nitrate shows a relatively low toxicity and does not produce myelosuppression, which is a significant advantage over other traditional anticancer agents. Furthermore, it does not appear to show any cross-resistance with conventional chemotherapeutic agents.
These studies have also shown that gallium nitrate is able to decrease serum calcium levels in patients with tumour-induced hypercalcaemia. Subsequently, several studies have been carried out comparing traditional bisphosphonate drugs with gallium nitrate in their ability to decrease the calcium levels that are elevated as a result of cancer. Based on the clinical efficacy, gallium nitrate injections (Ganite^TM) was granted approval by the FDA for the treatment of cancer-associated hypercalcaemia. Gallium nitrate is also believed to inhibit the bone turnover and therefore to decrease osteolysis, the active reabsorption of bone material, in patients with bone metastasis secondary to other cancers.

Studies on the antitumor activity of gallium nitrate have shown that it is particularly active against solid tumors. It has demonstrated antitumor activity in a variety of murine tumor models, including Walker carcinosarcoma 256, fibrosarcoma M-89, leukemia K-1964, adenocarcinoma 755, mammary carcinoma YMC, reticulum cell sarcoma A-RCS, lymphoma P1798, and osteosarcoma 124F.