S0809: Capecitabine, Gemcitabine, and RT in Patients w/Cholangiocarcinoma of the Gallbladder or Bile Duct

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as capecitabine and gemcitabine, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to kill tumor cells. Specialized radiation therapy that delivers a high dose of radiation directly to the tumor may kill more tumor cells and cause less damage to normal tissue. Giving more than one drug (combination chemotherapy) together with radiation therapy may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying how well giving capecitabine together with gemcitabine followed by capecitabine and radiation therapy works in treating patients with cholangiocarcinoma of the gallbladder or bile duct.

OBJECTIVES: * To estimate the stratum-specific (R0 and R1) and overall 2-year survival probabilities of patients with extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma treated with adjuvant chemotherapy comprising capecitabine and gemcitabine hydrochloride, followed by capecitabine and radiotherapy. (R0 stratum closed as of 12-15-11) * To estimate the 2-year stratum-specific and overall disease-free survival and local disease-free survival of patients treated with this regimen. * To assess the frequency and severity of toxicity in patients treated with this regimen. OUTLINE: This is a multicenter study. Patients are stratified according to margin of resection (negative \[R0\] vs microscopically positive \[R1\]). (R0 stratum closed as of 12-15-11) * Adjuvant chemotherapy: Patients receive oral capecitabine every 12 hours on days 1-14 and gemcitabine hydrochloride IV over 30 minutes on days 1 and 8. Treatment repeats every 21 days for 4 courses in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. * Chemoradiotherapy: Beginning in week 13, patients receive oral capecitabine every 12 hours on days 1-7. Patients also undergo concurrent three-dimensional or intensity-modulated radiotherapy on days 1-5. Treatment repeats weekly for 5-6 weeks in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. After completion of study therapy patients are followed periodically for up to 5 years.