Abstract: BACKGROUND ＆ AIM： The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between dendritic cell(DC) and gastrointestinal stromal tumors(GISTs). MATERIAL AND METHODS： Eighty-six cases of the mesenchymal tumors in the alimentary tract were studied by light microscopy and immunohistochemistry. RESULTS： There were 22 dendritic cell stromal tumors (DCSTs)among the 75 cases of confirmed gastrointestinal stromal tumors. The patients were adults, ranging from 24 to 70 years(mean 47.4 year), 11 male and 11 female. The most common symptom was GI bleeding. The tumor size ranged from 1.5 cm to 10.0 cm in the maximal diameter. Microscopically, the tumors were composed of spindle cells (3 cases), epithelioid cells (8 cases) and of both cells (11 cases). Five cases were benign, 5 were borderline and 12 were malignant. Immunohistochemically, CD1α,CD14, CD117 and CD34 all showed diffuse strong expression. CONCLUSION: GISTs had a close association with dendritic cells,GISTs might have originated from the precursor dendriticd cells or GISTs differentiated into dendritic cells. The relationship between them deserves further studies.

Key words: dendritic cell, gastrointestinal stromal tumors, immunohistochemistry, tissue origin