Perifosine in Treating Patients With Advanced Pancreatic Cancer

Inclusion Criteria

• •DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:
• •Histologically or cytologically confirmed adenocarcinoma of the pancreas not amenable to curative local therapy
• •* Metastatic OR locally advanced
• •No known brain metastases
• •No ascites that required therapeutic paracentesis on at least 2 occasions within the past 6 weeks
• •PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:
• •Age
• •18 and over
• •Performance status
• •ECOG 0-2 OR
• •Karnofsky 60-100%
• •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 2 times upper limit of normal (ULN)
• •AST/ALT no greater than 2.5 times ULN (5 times ULN with liver metastases)
• •Renal
• •Creatinine normal OR
• •Creatinine clearance at least 60 mL/min
• •Cardiovascular
• •No symptomatic congestive heart failure
• •No unstable angina pectoris
• •No cardiac arrhythmia
• •Gastrointestinal
• •No gastrointestinal (GI) tract disease resulting in the inability to take oral medication or a requirement for IV alimentation
• •No uncontrolled inflammatory bowel disease
• •No active peptic ulcer disease
• •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 perifosine
• •No other active malignant disease that could interfere with interpretation of study results
• •No ongoing active infection
• •No other uncontrolled concurrent illness
• •No psychiatric illness or social situation that would preclude study compliance
• •PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:
• •Biologic therapy
• •Not specified
• •Chemotherapy
• •No more than 1 prior chemotherapy regimen for metastatic or locally advanced disease
• •* Prior chemotherapy, given as a radiosensitizer, allowed in addition to single-line therapy
• •At least 3 weeks since prior chemotherapy (6 weeks for nitrosoureas or mitomycin) and recovered
• •Endocrine therapy
• •Not specified
• •Radiotherapy
• •At least 3 weeks since prior radiotherapy likely to have myelotoxic effects (more than 3,000 cGy to fields including substantial marrow) and recovered
• •Surgery
• •No prior GI surgery affecting absorption
• •Other
• •No concurrent antiretroviral therapy for HIV-positive patients
• •No other concurrent investigational agents
• •No other concurrent anticancer agents or therapies