Primary liver cancer and food-based toxins. A Swaziland review

This review brings together evidence on the scientific unfolding of the relationship between primary liver cancer and food based toxins with particular reference to Swaziland. Growth of knowledge of the geographic patterns of the disease has been paralleled by development in other disciplines, notably agriculture and toxicology, of understanding of the occurrence and mode of action of natural hepatotoxins in the dietary environment of people in southern Africa. Areas for further enquiry are highlighted but the agriculturally advantageous side-effects of policies aimed to reduce mycotoxin ingestion in Swaziland are already unequivocal.