Tumour ITGA4 expression was associated with poor overall and GIST‐specific survival, and down‐regulation of ITGA4 mRNA expression or VLA‐4 inhibition in cell lines decreased dramatically the invasion activity of GIST cells, suggesting that the major role of ITGA4 in GIST progression is the promotion of tumour invasion and dissemination rather than cell proliferation. Here, ITGA4 is linked to gastrointestinal stromal tumor.