Stent Placement With or Without Photodynamic Therapy Using Porfimer Sodium as Palliative Treatment in Treating Patients With Stage III or Stage IV Cholangiocarcinoma That Cannot Be Removed By Surgery

Inclusion Criteria

• •DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:
• •Histologically or cytologically confirmed cholangiocarcinoma
• •Stage III or IV disease
• •Bismuth type III or IV disease
• •Tumor mass or stricture on cholangiogram and CT scan
• •Unresectable disease
• •PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:
• •Performance status
• •Karnofsky 30-100%
• •Life expectancy
• •Not specified
• •Hematopoietic
• •WBC ≥ 2,000/mm\^3
• •Platelet count ≥ 50,000/mm\^3
• •Hemoglobin ≥ 9.0 g/dL
• •Hematocrit ≥ 27%
• •Hepatic
• •PT or INR ≤ 2 times upper limit of normal (correctable with vitamin K)
• •No decompensated cirrhosis
• •Renal
• •Not specified
• •Other
• •Not pregnant
• •Negative pregnancy test
• •Fertile patients must use effective contraception
• •No known porphyria or hypersensitivity to porphyrin
• •No clinically significant acute or chronic medial or psychological illness that would preclude study treatment
• •No other malignancy within the past 5 years except carcinoma in situ of the cervix or basal cell skin cancer
• •No concurrent untreated primary diagnosis of anxiety or depression
• •PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:
• •Chemotherapy
• •More than 13 weeks since prior and no concurrent chemotherapy
• •Radiotherapy
• •More than 13 weeks since prior and no concurrent brachytherapy or radiotherapy
• •Surgery
• •No prior metal stent insertion
• •No prior surgical resection of cholangiocarcinoma
• •Other
• •No prior photodynamic therapy for this disease
• •More than 60 days since prior investigational drugs
• •No concurrent administration of the following:
• •Ursodiol
• •Herbal products that may increase bile flow, including any of the following:
• •Andrographis paniculata
• •Chelidonium majus L
• •Curcumin L
• •Cynara scolymus L (artichoke)
• •Gentiana lutea
• •Mentha x piperita (peppermint)
• •Peumus boldus Mol
• •Taraxacum officinale (dandelion)
• •No administration of any of the following within 7 days of porfimer sodium injection:
• •Supplements in vitamins C, E, and β-carotene
• •Camellia sinensis (green tea)
• •Silymarin
• •EGb761