Arsenic Trioxide in Treating Patients With Pancreatic Cancer That Has Not Responded to Gemcitabine

You may be eligible if

• DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:
• Histologically or cytologically confirmed adenocarcinoma of the pancreas
• * Locally advanced or metastatic disease
• Unidimensionally measurable disease
• * At least 1 lesion that is at least 20 mm with conventional techniques or at least 10 mm with spiral CT scan
• Must have progressed after chemotherapy with a gemcitabine-containing regimen
• No known brain metastases
• PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:
• Age
• Over 18
• Performance status
• ECOG 0-1
• Life expectancy
• Not specified
• Hematopoietic
• WBC at least 3,000/mm\^3
• Absolute neutrophil count at least 1,500/mm\^3
• Platelet count at least 100,000/mm\^3
• Hepatic
• Bilirubin no greater than 1.5 mg/dL
• AST/ALT no greater than 5 times upper limit of normal
• Renal
• Creatinine no greater than 1.5 mg/dL OR
• Creatinine clearance at least 60 mL/min
• Cardiovascular
• QTc less than 500 msec at baseline by EKG
• No New York Heart Association class III or IV heart failure
• No symptomatic congestive heart failure
• No unstable angina pectoris
• No cardiac arrhythmia
• Other
• Not pregnant or nursing
• Negative pregnancy test
• Fertile patients must use effective contraception
• No prior allergic reactions attributed to compounds of similar chemical or biological composition to arsenic trioxide
• No other active malignancy within the past 5 years except nonmelanoma skin cancer or carcinoma in situ of the cervix
• No ongoing or active infection
• No psychiatric illness or social situation that would preclude study compliance
• No other uncontrolled illness
• PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:
• Biologic therapy
• No concurrent immunotherapy
• No concurrent colony-stimulating factors during the first course of the study
• Chemotherapy
• See Disease Characteristics
• At least 4 weeks since prior chemotherapy (6 weeks for nitrosoureas or mitomycin) and recovered
• No prior arsenic trioxide
• No other concurrent chemotherapy
• No more than 1 prior chemotherapy regimen for metastatic disease
• Endocrine therapy
• No concurrent hormonal therapy
• Radiotherapy
• At least 4 weeks since prior radiotherapy and recovered
• No concurrent therapeutic radiotherapy
• Surgery
• At least 4 weeks since major surgery
• Other
• No other concurrent investigational or commercial anticancer agents or therapies
• No other concurrent investigational agents
• No concurrent antiretroviral therapy in HIV-positive patients
• No concurrent medications for other comorbid conditions that are known to prolong the QT interval