In normal liver tissue, HCC tissue, and adjacent hepatic tissue, immunostaining of ASGPR was observed at the membrane of the hepatocytes and HCC cells (Fig. 1C), but several extrahepatic tissues examined (colon, lung, renal carcinoma, and breast cancer) failed to be stained by the same procedure (data not shown). This evidence concerns the gene ASGR1 and hepatocellular carcinoma.