Gemcitabine Hydrochloride, Dasatinib, and Erlotinib Hydrochloride in Treating Patients With Pancreatic Cancer That Is Metastatic or Cannot Be Removed by Surgery

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: I. To determine the maximum tolerated dose (also phase II recommended dose) of the combination of gemcitabine (gemcitabine hydrochloride), erlotinib (erlotinib hydrochloride) and dasatinib in patients with advanced pancreatic adenocarcinoma. SECONDARY OBJECTIVES: I. To determine the safety profile of the combination of gemcitabine, erlotinib and dasatinib. II. To evaluate the response rate and response duration of advanced pancreatic adenocarcinoma treated with dasatinib, erlotinib and gemcitabine. III. To determine progression-free survival and overall survival for this group of patients. IV. To determine the utility of advanced magnetic resonance imaging techniques to assess in vivo effects of therapy (changes in tumor vascularity, cellularity). V. To assess the use of serum markers as predictors of response and outcome. OUTLINE: This is a dose-escalation study of gemcitabine hydrochloride and dasatinib. Patients receive gemcitabine hydrochloride intravenously (IV) over 30-60 minutes on days 1, 8, and 15, and dasatinib orally (PO) once daily (QD) and erlotinib hydrochloride PO QD on days 1-28. Courses repeat every 28 days in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. After completion of study treatment, patients are followed up for 30 days and then every 4 weeks thereafter.