Gallium is used therapeutically and diagnostically in the management and treatment of cancer, infectious disease, inflammatory disease, bone disease, autoimmune disease, and other diseases and disorders. The administration of gallium orally, as compared to administration intravenously or by injection, provides advantages to the patient in terms of convenience, cost, safety, and possibly efficacy.
Most gallium compounds are poorly absorbed when taken orally. A few compounds, including gallium maltolate and gallium 8-quinolinolate, have oral gallium bioavailabilities significantly higher than those of other gallium compounds. Gallium bioavailabilities from these compounds may not, however, always be consistent, and, because the gallium compounds may be acid labile, protection from stomach acid may be needed in some cases.