Ultrasound-Guided Photodynamic Therapy With Photofrin & Gemcitabine for Patients With Locally Advanced Pancreatic Cancer

This phase I trial studies the side effects and best dose of ultrasound-guided photodynamic therapy with porfimer sodium when given together with gemcitabine hydrochloride in treating patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer. Photodynamic therapy uses a drug, porfimer sodium, that becomes active when it is exposed to a certain kind of light. When the drug is active, cancer cells are killed. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as gemcitabine hydrochloride, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Giving photodynamic therapy together with gemcitabine hydrochloride may be effect in patients with pancreatic cancer.