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Tungsten: an Emerging Toxicant, Alone or in Combination

  • Metals and Health (A Barchowsky, Section Editor)
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Abstract

Purpose of review

Tungsten is an emerging environmental toxicant, yet our understanding of the potential risks of exposure on human health is still limited.

Recent findings

In this review, we will discuss populations most at risk of exposure to high concentrations of tungsten. In addition, we will highlight what is known about the toxicity profile of tungsten compounds, based on epidemiological, in vitro, and in vivo studies, focusing on bone, immune, pulmonary, and cancer outcomes. Of note, emerging evidence indicates that tungsten can augment the effects of other stimulants, stressors, and toxicants. Of particular importance may be tungsten-cobalt mixtures that seem to be more toxic than either metal alone. This is important because it means that we cannot just evaluate the toxicity of tungsten in isolation. Finally, we still have limited information of how many of the in vitro and in vivo findings translate to human populations, so it will be important to conduct epidemiology studies in highly exposed populations to adequately address the potential risks of tungsten exposure on human health.

Summary

Together, we discuss recent findings that support further investigation into the toxicities of tungsten alone and in combination with other metals.

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Acknowledgments

This work is supported by grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research MOP-137149 and MOP-142227 and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada RGPIN-2015-04919.

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  1. Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Department of Oncology, McGill University, 3755 Côte Ste Catherine Rd, Rm E537, Montréal, Québec, H3T 1E2, Canada

    Alicia M. Bolt & Koren K. Mann

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  1. Alicia M. Bolt
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  2. Koren K. Mann
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Correspondence to Koren K. Mann.

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Bolt, A.M., Mann, K.K. Tungsten: an Emerging Toxicant, Alone or in Combination. Curr Envir Health Rpt 3, 405–415 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40572-016-0106-z

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