Photodynamic Therapy in Treating Patients With Lymphoma or Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

OBJECTIVES: * Determine the pain grade and epidermal toxic response (ETR) of patients with T-cell or B-cell lymphoma or early chronic lymphocytic leukemia with cutaneous infiltrates treated with photodynamic therapy using aminolevulinic acid. * Determine the feasibility of maintaining a pain grade of 1 or less and an approximate ETR of 2 in patients receiving up to 12 sessions of this regimen. * Determine the maximal irradiance and corresponding exposure among multiple treatments at the same site and among different sites in the same and in different patients. * Determine the cumulative response achieved at the completion of treatment in these patients. * Determine the number of sessions required to complete treatment in these patients. * Correlate ETR with incremental treatment response in patients treated with this regimen. OUTLINE: This is a randomized study. Patients' individual lesions are randomized to 1 of 3 treatment arms. * Arm I: Patients receive a short duration of topical aminolevulinic acid (ALA) on the lesion and surrounding normal skin. The lesion is then illuminated with red light for up to 30 minutes. * Arm II: Patients receive a medium duration of ALA followed by light illumination as in arm I. * Arm III: Patients receive a long duration of ALA followed by light illumination as in arm I. In all arms, treatment repeats every 2 weeks for up to 12 courses in the absence of unacceptable toxicity or progressive (systemic) disease. Additional patients are accrued to a treatment arm if at least 2 of 3 patients on that arm experience 25% cumulative clinical response. Patients are followed at 1, 3, and 6 months and then every 6 months for 2 years. PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 4-10 patients will be accrued for this study within 5-7 years.