Gemcitabine Hydrochloride and Tanespimycin in Treating Patients With Stage IV Pancreatic Cancer

This randomized phase II trial is studying three different schedules of gemcitabine hydrochloride and tanespimycin to see how well they work in treating patients with stage IV pancreatic cancer. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as gemcitabine hydrochloride and tanespimycin, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Giving more than one drug (combination chemotherapy) may kill more tumor cells

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: I. To assess the effect of gemcitabine hydrochloride and tanespimycin (17-AAG) on 6-month survival rate in patients with stage IV pancreatic adenocarcinoma. SECONDARY OBJECTIVES: I. To determine the overall survival of these patients. II. To determine the time to disease progression (TTP) in these patients. III. To determine the confirmed response rate and duration of response in these patients. IV. To determine the time to treatment failure in these patients. V. To determine the adverse events in these patients. TERTIARY OBJECTIVES: I. To determine the effects of treatment on molecular targets, such as CDK4, akt, phospho-akt, Hsp90, Hsp70, and CHK1, and correlate these with clinical endpoints, including survival at 6 months, TTP, response rate, and overall survival. II. To determine the effect of gemcitabine hydrochloride metabolizing enzyme genotype on toxicity, and clinical outcome. OUTLINE: This is a multicenter study. Patients are stratified according to Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status (0, 1, or 2). Patients are randomized to 1 of 3 treatment arms. ARM I: Patients receive gemcitabine hydrochloride intravenously (IV) over 30 minutes on days 1 and 8 and tanespimycin IV over 1 hour on day 9 of course one. ARM II: Patients receive gemcitabine hydrochloride IV over 30 minutes on days 1 and 8 and tanespimycin IV over 1 hour on days 2 and 9 of course one. ARM III: Patients receive gemcitabine hydrochloride IV over 30 minutes on day 8 and tanespimycin IV over 1 hour on days 1 and 9 of course one. Beginning with course two (and for all subsequent courses), all patients receive gemcitabine hydrochloride IV over 30 minutes on days 1 and 8 and tanespimycin IV over 1 hour on days 2 and 9. Treatment repeats every 3 weeks in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Blood samples are collected at baseline and periodically during treatment for pharmacogenetic studies. Tumor tissue samples that are available are also collected for laboratory studies. Samples are analyzed for number of circulating tumor cells, levels of intracellular targets (e.g., CDK4, akt, phospho-akt, Hsp90, Hsp70, and CHK1), single nucleotide DNA polymorphisms, and Vav1 expression. Samples are analyzed by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction, immunofluorescence, and immunohistochemistry. After completion of study treatment, patients are followed periodically for up to 2 years.