{"entity":{"id":"ga-67","kind":"isotope","name":"Gallium-67","aka":["67Ga"],"tldr":"An older radioactive gallium tracer, given as a citrate injection, that lights up infections and some tumours over a scan taken a few days later; mostly replaced now by FDG PET but still used where PET is unavailable.","summary":"Gallium-67 decays by electron capture with a 3.26-day (78.3-hour) half-life, emitting a set of gamma rays (93, 185 and 300 keV) suited to planar gamma-camera and SPECT imaging. Complexed with citrate as 67Ga-citrate, it accumulates in inflammatory and infectious foci and in a range of tumours, historically including lymphoma, hepatoma and bronchogenic carcinoma, and was for decades the standard whole-body tumour and infection imaging agent before FDG PET became widely available.\n\nIt is produced on a cyclotron by proton bombardment of enriched zinc-68, the 68Zn(p,2n)67Ga reaction, and its multi-day half-life means imaging is typically performed 24-72 hours after injection to let background activity clear, at the cost of a comparatively high radiation burden and lower image resolution than modern PET agents.\n\nClinical use of 67Ga-citrate has declined sharply since the 2000s as FDG-PET/CT displaced it for lymphoma and most solid-tumour indications, and it now survives mainly as a second-line option for infection and inflammation imaging where PET access, FDG production or reimbursement pose barriers.","status":"historic","asOf":"2026-09-22","links":[{"label":"DailyMed/FDA label: Gallium Citrate Ga 67","url":"https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/fda/fdaDrugXsl.cfm?setid=5f670c12-cca5-4d73-8a88-241f753d1bc7"},{"label":"Nordion: gallium-67 fact sheet","url":"https://www.nordion.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/MI_Gallium-67_Canada.pdf"}],"tags":["gamma emitter","legacy tumour and infection imaging"],"related":[],"indications":["neuroendocrine"],"sections":[],"technologies":["spect","cyclotron-isotope-production"],"targets":[],"drugs":[],"companies":[],"institutions":[],"pathways":[],"terms":[],"trials":[],"people":[],"bottlenecks":[],"keyPapers":[],"journals":[],"dependsOn":[],"notes":[],"symbol":"67Ga","element":"Gallium","massNumber":67,"halfLife":"3.26 days (78.3 hours)","emissions":["γ 93 keV (38%)","γ 185 keV (21%)","γ 300 keV (17%)"],"emissionClass":"gamma","use":"imaging","production":"Cyclotron: 68Zn(p,2n)67Ga on enriched zinc-68 target.","supply":"adequate","supplyNote":"Clinical demand has fallen substantially since FDG-PET/CT took over most oncology and infection-imaging indications previously served by gallium scans; remaining production is cyclotron-based and dispensed daily by commercial radiopharmacies.","chelators":[],"pairedWith":[],"since":1969},"route":"/isotopes/ga-67/","neighbours":{"indication":[{"id":"fever-of-unknown-origin","kind":"indication","name":"Fever of unknown origin","route":"/indications/fever-of-unknown-origin/"},{"id":"neuroendocrine","kind":"indication","name":"Neuroendocrine tumours","route":"/indications/neuroendocrine/"}],"technology":[{"id":"cyclotron-isotope-production","kind":"technology","name":"Cyclotron isotope production (F-18, Ga-68, Cu-64, Zr-89, At-211)","route":"/technologies/cyclotron-isotope-production/"},{"id":"spect","kind":"technology","name":"SPECT & bone scan","route":"/technologies/spect/"}],"drug":[{"id":"ga-67-citrate","kind":"drug","name":"Gallium citrate Ga-67","route":"/drugs/ga-67-citrate/"}]}}