Author's response to reviews Title: Geographic patterns of hepatocellular carcinoma mortality with exposure to iron in groundwater in Taiwanese population: An ecological study Authors:

Title: Geographic patterns of hepatocellular carcinoma mortality with exposure to iron in groundwater in Taiwanese population: An ecological study Dear editor, Thank you very much for your assistance regarding our manuscript. We have carefully addressed yours and the reviewers' comments, and have incorporated all the suggestions in the revised manuscript. In addition, we have followed the editorial requirements for the journal. If you have any questions regarding the revisions, please contact me. Once again, thank you very much for your assistance. A1: The manuscript has been copyedited for future consideration of the journal. A2: Title page has been re-formatted. A7: Modification has been made. Q1: Any evidence to support the correlation of iron deposit in HCC patients with the concentration of iron in groundwater would be indicated; Prussian blue staining or iron contents in biopsy liver specimens, or etc.