AIM: To make clear whether CD147 (EMMPRIN)expression in pathological tumor samples with a fineneedle aspiration biopsy is useful for pathological diagnosis of early hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).METHODS: Twenty-two patients (15 men and 7 women;median age 68 years, range 56-81 years) underwent a liver tissue biopsy in order to make a diagnosis of HCC.Paraffin-embedded liver biopsy tissue samples from 22 patients were stained with anti-CD147 antibody,murine monoclonal antibody 12C3 (MAb12C3) for immunohistochemical analysis. An immunohistochemical analysis of CD147 was performed and the degree of staining compared between tumor and non-tumor tissue. In addition, the degree of staining within tumor tissue was compared according to a number of clinicopathological variables.RESULTS: The degree of staining of CD147 was significantly higher in tumor tissues than non-tumor tissues, even in tumors less than 15 mm in diameter.The expression of this protein was significantly elevated in HCC tissue specimens from patients with a low value of serum AST and γ-GTP.CONCLUSION: CD147 serves potentially as a pathological target for cancer detection of early HCC.