RATIONALE: Stent placement may help reduce symptoms caused by the tumor. Photodynamic therapy uses a drug, such as porfimer sodium, that becomes active when it is exposed to a certain kind of light. When the drug is active, tumor cells are killed. This may be an effective treatment for cholangiocarcinoma. It is not yet known whether stent placement and photodynamic therapy using porfimer sodium are more effective than stent placement alone in treating cholangiocarcinoma.