3-AP and Gemcitabine in Treating Patients With Unresectable or Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer

Inclusion Criteria

• •DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:
• •Histologically or cytologically confirmed pancreatic cancer
• •* Unresectable or metastatic disease
• •Measurable disease
• •* Outside prior radiation ports OR within prior radiation port if evidence of disease progression after radiotherapy
• •No CNS metastases
• •PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:
• •Age
• •18 and over
• •Performance status
• •ECOG 0-2
• •Life expectancy
• •More than 3 months
• •Hematopoietic
• •Absolute neutrophil count at least 1,500/mm\^3
• •Platelet count at least 100,000/mm\^3
• •Hemoglobin at least 9 g/dL (transfusion allowed)
• •Hepatic
• •Bilirubin no greater than 2.0 mg/dL
• •AST and ALT no greater than 3 times upper limit of normal (ULN) (5 times ULN in the presence of liver metastases)
• •Chronic viral hepatitis allowed
• •Renal
• •Creatinine no greater than 2.0 mg/dL
• •Cardiovascular
• •No myocardial infarction within the past 3 months
• •No uncontrolled congestive heart failure
• •No uncontrolled coronary artery disease
• •No uncontrolled arrhythmias
• •Pulmonary
• •No dyspnea at rest
• •No dependence on supplemental oxygen
• •Other
• •Not pregnant or nursing
• •Negative pregnancy test
• •Fertile patients must use effective contraception during and for 3 months after study participation
• •No other malignancy except any of the following:
• •* Carcinoma in situ of the cervix treated with cone biopsy or resection
• •* Nonmetastatic basal cell or squamous cell skin cancer
• •* Any stage I malignancy curatively resected more than 5 years ago
• •No active infection
• •No known or suspected glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency
• •No other concurrent life threatening illness
• •PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:
• •Biologic therapy
• •Prior vaccines, antibodies, cytokines, or small molecule cell signaling inhibitors allowed
• •Chemotherapy
• •No prior cytotoxic chemotherapy for unresectable or metastatic pancreatic cancer
• •Endocrine therapy
• •Not specified
• •Radiotherapy
• •See Disease Characteristics
• •More than 4 weeks since prior radiotherapy and recovered
• •No concurrent radiotherapy
• •Surgery
• •More than 3 weeks since prior surgery and recovered
• •Other
• •More than 3 weeks since prior noncytotoxic treatment regimens and objective evidence of progressive disease
• •No other concurrent investigational drugs