Gemcitabine and Celecoxib in Treating Patients With Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer

Inclusion Criteria

• •DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:
• •Histologically or cytologically confirmed metastatic pancreatic cancer
• •Radiographic evidence of disease
• •No known brain metastases
• •PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:
• •Age
• •Any age
• •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 1.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN)
• •AST/ALT no greater than 2.5 times ULN
• •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 history of peptic ulcer disease
• •No gastrointestinal bleeding within the past 3 months
• •Other
• •Not pregnant or nursing
• •Negative pregnancy test
• •Fertile patients must use effective contraception
• •No prior allergic reactions to compounds of similar chemical or biological composition to study drugs or to sulfonamides
• •No prior allergic reaction, asthma, or urticaria after taking aspirin or NSAIDs
• •No ongoing or active infection
• •No other uncontrolled illness
• •No psychiatric illness or social situation that would preclude study compliance
• •No other malignancy within the past 5 years except basal cell skin cancer or carcinoma in situ of the cervix
• •PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:
• •Biologic therapy
• •Not specified
• •Chemotherapy
• •No prior chemotherapy for metastatic pancreatic cancer
• •More than 6 months since prior neoadjuvant or adjuvant chemoradiotherapy (including gemcitabine) for pancreatic cancer
• •Endocrine therapy
• •Not specified
• •Radiotherapy
• •See Chemotherapy
• •More than 6 months since prior radiotherapy
• •Surgery
• •Not specified
• •Other
• •More than 30 days since prior investigational agents
• •No other concurrent investigational or commercial agents or therapies for the malignancy
• •No other concurrent nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)
• •No other concurrent cyclo-oxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitors (e.g., rofecoxib)
• •Concurrent acetaminophen-containing medications or low-dose aspirin (up to 325 mg/day) for cardiac prophylaxis allowed