Sorafenib and Erlotinib in Treating Patients With Pancreatic Cancer That Cannot Be Removed by Surgery

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

* Microscopically confirmed diagnosis of pancreatic adenocarcinoma

  * Unresectable disease
  * No neuroendocrine tumors or cystadenocarcinoma
* Measurable or evaluable disease by RECIST criteria
* No known brain metastases

  * Patients with neurological symptoms must undergo a CT scan/MRI of the brain to exclude brain metastases

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

* ECOG performance status 0-2
* ANC ≥ 1,500/mm\^3
* Platelet count ≥ 100,000/mm\^3
* Total bilirubin ≤ 1.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN)
* ALT and AST ≤ 2.5 times ULN (≤ 5 times ULN for patients with liver involvement)
* Creatinine ≤ 1.5 times ULN
* INR \< 1.5 or PT/PTT normal unless patients are receiving anticoagulation treatments
* Negative pregnancy test
* Not pregnant or nursing
* Fertile patients must use effective barrier contraception before, during, and for at least 6 months after completion of study treatment
* Able to swallow whole pills
* No patients who currently smoke
* No cardiac disease, including any of the following:

  * NYHA class III-IV congestive heart failure
  * Unstable angina (anginal symptoms at rest)
  * New-onset angina (began within the past 3 months)
  * Myocardial infarction within the past 6 months
  * Cardiac ventricular arrhythmias requiring anti-arrhythmic therapy
* No uncontrolled hypertension defined as systolic BP \> 150 mm Hg or diastolic BP \> 90 mm Hg despite optimal medical management
* No arterial thrombotic or embolic events (e.g., cerebrovascular accident, including transient ischemic attacks) within the past 6 months
* No pulmonary hemorrhage/bleeding event ≥ CTCAE grade 2 in the past 4 weeks
* No other hemorrhage/bleeding event ≥ CTCAE grade 3 in the past 4 weeks
* No significant traumatic injury in the past 4 weeks
* No known untreated malabsorption problem (e.g., ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease)
* No known HIV positivity or chronic hepatitis B or C
* No known or suspected allergy to sorafenib tosylate or erlotinib hydrochloride
* No active clinically serious infection \> CTCAE grade 2
* No serious non-healing wound, ulcer, or bone fracture
* No evidence or history of bleeding diathesis or coagulopathy (except for cancer-related blood clots)
* No dermatitis ≥ CTCAE grade 2 at baseline
* No patients who currently smoke

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

* No prior treatment with antiangiogenics (e.g., bevacizumab, thalidomide, marimastat, interferon alfa, vatalanib, vandetanib, ZD6126, sorafenib, semaxanib, sunitinib, axitinib)
* No more than one line of prior therapy for metastatic disease
* More than 4 weeks since prior major surgery or open biopsy
* No concurrent strong CYP34A inhibitors or inducers
* Concurrent warfarin or heparin allowed with the approval of the principal investigator