Abraxane Therapy in Patients With Pancreatic Cancer Who Failed First-Line Gemcitabine Therapy

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as paclitaxel albumin-stabilized nanoparticle formulation, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying how well paclitaxel albumin-stabilized nanoparticle formulation works in treating patients with locally advanced or metastatic pancreatic cancer that did not respond to first-line therapy with gemcitabine.

OBJECTIVES: Primary * To establish preliminary evidence of efficacy of paclitaxel albumin-stabilized nanoparticle formulation in patients with locally advanced (unresectable) or metastatic pancreatic cancer that failed first-line therapy with a gemcitabine hydrochloride-containing regimen. Secondary * To determine the safety and characterize the toxicity profile of this drug. * To determine the complete, partial, and overall response rates and duration of response in patients with measurable disease. * To determine CA 19-9 response. * To determine progression-free survival. OUTLINE: This is a multicenter study. Patients receive paclitaxel albumin-stabilized nanoparticle formulation IV over 30 minutes on days 1, 8, and 15. Courses repeat every 28 days in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. After completion of study treatment, patients are followed every 3 months for 1 year and then annually thereafter.