Aristolochic acids and their derivatives are widely implicated in liver cancers in Taiwan and throughout Asia.

The article investigates the possible presence of the aristolochic acid (AA) mutational signature in hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs) from Taiwan. Topics covered include links between the extent of exposure to the AA signature and multiple clinical and epidemiological variables, detection of the AA signature in five of nine HCCs from various countries in Southeast Asia, and sample spectra of HCCs with the AA signature.