[Mesenchymal tumors of the digestive tract, immunohistochemistry contribution].

Unlabelled: Mesenchymal tumors of the digestive tract are rare and display variable morphological appearances. Thanks to immunohistochemistry and molecular biology, these tumors are now better classified and dominated by stromal tumors.

Aims: the aim of this article is to study morphological characteristics of mesenchymal tumors of the digestive tract and to insist on immunohistochemistry contribution to diagnosis, especially the c-Kit.

Materials And Methods: this is a retrospective study of 40 mesenchymal tumors of the digestive tract diagnosed before the event of c-Kit, from 1985 to 1999 in the pathology laboratory of F. Hached hospital in Sousse. Immunohistochemical studies were performed on these tumors with the following antibodies: c-Kit, CD34, smooth muscle actin and S-100 protein.

Results: after immunostaining, the tumors were reclassified as the following: 33 stromal tumors, 4 leiomyosarcomas, 1 leiomyoma, 1 schwannoma and 1 desmoid tumor.

Conclusion: mesenchymal tumors of the digestive tract are dominated by stromal tumors. The latter are defined usually by a spindle cell proliferation, often expressing the c-Kit protein which must be used in all mesenchymal tumors of the digestive tract.