This randomized phase II-R/III trial studies gemcitabine hydrochloride with or without
erlotinib hydrochloride followed by the same chemotherapy regimen with or without radiation
therapy and capecitabine or fluorouracil in treating patients with pancreatic cancer that was
removed by surgery. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as gemcitabine hydrochloride,
capecitabine, and fluorouracil, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells,
either by killing the cells, by stopping them from dividing, or by stopping them from
spreading. Erlotinib hydrochloride may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the
enzymes needed for cell growth. Radiation therapy uses high energy x-rays to kill tumor
cells. Giving chemotherapy together with or without erlotinib hydrochloride and/or radiation
therapy after surgery may kill any tumor cells that remain after surgery. It is not yet known
whether chemotherapy is more effective when given with or without erlotinib hydrochloride
and/or radiation therapy in treating pancreatic cancer.
Nov 17,2009
All
18 Years
N/A
18 Years
N/A
545