Gemcitabine With or Without Capecitabine in Treating Patients With Locally Advanced or Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer

You may be eligible if

• DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:
• Histologically or cytologically confirmed ductal adenocarcinoma of the pancreas
• * Locally advanced or metastatic disease not amenable to curative surgical resection
• * Macroscopic residual disease after prior resection with histological confirmation is allowed
• Unidimensionally measurable disease
• No intracerebral metastases or meningeal carcinomatosis
• PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:
• Age:
• Over 18
• Performance status:
• WHO 0-2
• Life expectancy:
• More than 3 months
• Hematopoietic:
• WBC greater than 3,000/mm3
• Neutrophil count greater than 1,500/mm3
• Platelet count greater than 100,000/mm3
• Hepatic:
• Bilirubin less than 2 mg/dL
• Renal:
• Creatinine less than 2 mg/dL
• Creatinine clearance greater than 50 mL/min
• Cardiovascular:
• No New York Heart Association class III or IV heart disease
• No uncontrolled angina pectoris
• Other:
• No other prior malignancy except nonmelanoma skin cancer or carcinoma in situ of the cervix
• No other concurrent uncontrolled medical condition
• No other medical or psychiatric condition that would preclude study
• No known hypersensitivity to fluorouracil
• No dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase deficiency
• No known malabsorption syndromes
• Not pregnant or nursing
• Fertile patients must use effective contraception
• PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:
• Biologic therapy:
• Not specified
• Chemotherapy:
• No prior chemotherapy (including preoperative or adjuvant) for this disease
• No other concurrent cytotoxic chemotherapy
• Endocrine therapy:
• Not specified
• Radiotherapy:
• No prior radiotherapy (including preoperative or adjuvant) for this disease
• Surgery:
• See Disease Characteristics
• Other:
• No prior investigational drugs (including preoperative or adjuvant) for this disease
• No other concurrent investigational drugs
• No concurrent dipyridamole or allopurinol
• No concurrent sorivudine or sorivudine analogs (e.g., brivudine) (capecitabine arm only)