Visceral Lymphatic Mapping Project: A Pilot Study

OBJECTIVES: Primary * Evaluate the safety and feasibility of visceral lymphatic mapping using isosulfan blue in patients with adenocarcinoma of the pancreas, colon, stomach, small bowel, or gallbladder. * Evaluate the ability of surgically defined sentinel lymph nodes to predict whether other lymph nodes in the basin are involved with the tumor in these patients. Secondary * Compare the results obtained from the sentinel lymph node (i.e., positive or negative for metastatic disease) with the results obtained from the other nodes in these patients. * Compare immunohistochemical analysis with standard analysis of the sentinel lymph nodes in these patients. * Evaluate the value of intraoperative touch prep analysis of sentinel lymph nodes in these patients. OUTLINE: This is a pilot study. During surgical resection of the primary tumor, patients receive isosulfan blue subcutaneously 5 minutes before undergoing sentinel lymph node identification/excision and radical lymphadenectomy. Tissue samples are analyzed by IHC for cytokeratins and CEA.