Yttrium Y 90 Glass Microspheres and Capecitabine in Treating Patients With Liver Cholangiocarcinoma or Liver Metastases

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

* Histologically confirmed diagnosis of 1 of the following:

  * Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma
  * Metastatic cancer confined to the liver
* Measurable disease, defined as ≥ 1 lesion that can be accurately measured in ≥ 1 dimension as ≥ 20 mm by conventional techniques or as ≥ 10 mm by spiral CT scan
* Must have tumor volume ≤ 50% of total liver volume based on visual estimation

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

* ECOG performance status 0-2
* ANC ≥ 1,500/mm\^3
* Platelet count ≥ 75,000/mm\^3
* Serum creatinine ≤ 2.0 mg/dL
* Serum bilirubin ≤ 1.5 times upper limit of normal
* Albumin ≥ 2.0 g/dL
* No baseline symptoms or laboratory values \> grade 2 in severity by NCI CTCAE v 3.0 criteria
* Not pregnant or nursing
* Fertile patients must use effective contraception
* No malabsorption syndrome
* No severe liver dysfunction or pulmonary insufficiency
* No complete occlusion of the main portal vein
* No contraindication to iodine-based contrast agents
* No contraindication to hepatic artery catheterization (e.g., vascular abnormalities or bleeding diathesis)
* No prior unanticipated severe reaction to fluoropyrimidine therapy, known hypersensitivity to fluorouracil, or known dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase deficiency

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

* No prior radiotherapy to the liver
* No more than 2 prior therapies for metastatic disease to the liver
* No prior intervention to or compromise of the Ampulla of Vater
* At least 4 weeks since prior and no concurrent sorivudine or brivudine
* No concurrent cimetidine