AIM: To study and clone a novel liver cancer reisted gene,and to explore the molecular basis of liver cancer genesis.METHODS: Using mRNA differential display polymerasechain reaction (DDPCR), we investigated the difference of mRNA in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and paired surrounding liver tissues, and got a gene probe. By screening a human placenta cDNA library and genomic homologous extend, we obtained a full-length cDNA named HCCA3. We analyzed the expression of this novel gene in 42pairs of HCC and the surrounding liver tissues, and distribution in human normal tissues by means of Northern blot assay.RESULTS: A full-length cDNA of liver cancer associated gene HCCA3 has been submitted to the GeneBank nucleotide sequence databases ( Accession No. AF276707 ). The positive expression rate of this gene was 78.6% (33/42) in HCC tissues, and the clinical pathological data showed that the HCCA3 was closely associated with the invasion of tumor capsule ( P = 0.023) and adjacant small metastasis satellite nodules lesions ( P= 0.041). The HCCA3 was widely distributed in the human normal tissues, which was intensively expressed in lungs, brain and colon tissues,while lowly expressed in the liver tissues.CONCLUSION: A novel full-length cDNA was cloned and differentiated, which was highly expressed in liver cancer tissues. The high expression was closely related to the tumor invasiveness and metastasis, that may be the late heredited change in HCC genesis.