Patient description: The patient is a 57-year-old man with abdominal pain and vomiting. The pain started gradually about 20 hours ago in the epigastric and periumbilical regions, radiating to his back. He drinks around 60 units of alcohol per week and smokes 22 cigarettes per day. He is healthy with no history of allergies or using any medications. His family history is positive for type 2 diabetes (his father and sister). He lives alone and has no children. The abdomen is tender and soft. His bowel sounds are normal. His heart rate is 115/min and blood pressure 110/75 mmHg. The lab results are remarkable for leukocytosis (19.5), urea of 8.5, high CRP (145), high amylase (1200) and Glc level of 15. Cross-sectional imaging was negative for obstructive pancreatitis.

Clinical trial eligibility criteria: eligible ages (years): 18.0-999.0,  Adenocarcinoma of the Pancreas Recurrent Pancreatic Cancer Stage III Pancreatic Cancer Stage IV Pancreatic Cancer Histologically or cytologically proven adenocarcinoma of the pancreas Patients must have locally advanced unresectable disease not amenable to curative resection or extrapancreatic metastases; patients must have radiographically measurable disease (defined as at least one lesion that can be accurately measured in at least one dimension [longest diameter to be recorded] as >= 20 mm with conventional techniques or as >= 10 mm with spiral computed tomography [CT] scan) AND/OR a serum CA19-9 measurement > 2 x ULN One prior line of systemic therapy for advanced disease (locally advanced or metastatic) The following represent acceptable examples meeting the definition of one prior line of therapy Gemcitabine as a single agent or in combination with other agents; patients receiving (a) gemcitabine initially alone, with the eventual addition of a second agent; or (b) gemcitabine as part of a combination regimen, followed by gemcitabine alone; are eligible A non-gemcitabine-based regimen, including (but not limited to) leucovorin calcium, fluorouracil, irinotecan hydrochloride, and oxaliplatin (FOLFIRINOX) or any combination of components therein Treatment as part of a clinical trial involving cytotoxic agents, small molecule inhibitors, monoclonal antibodies, and/or immunomodulatory agents For patients with locally advanced disease, prior radiation to the primary tumor is allowable as long as there is clear evidence of disease progression (either radiographic locoregional disease progression and/or a rising CA19-9 level); patients may have received chemotherapy both concurrently and/or sequentially with (either before or after) the radiation and still be eligible for the study, as this would be considered all part of the same course of treatment Treatment given in the adjuvant setting (radiation and/or chemotherapy, given either concurrently or sequentially) does not count as prior therapy as long as progressive disease occurs > 6 months following completion of treatment Life expectancy of greater than 8 weeks  Patients who have had chemotherapy or radiotherapy within 4 weeks (6 weeks for nitrosoureas or mitomycin C) prior to entering the study or those who have not recovered from adverse events due to agents administered more than 4 weeks earlier Patients may not be receiving any other investigational agents Patients with known brain metastases should be excluded from this clinical trial History of allergic reactions attributed to compounds of similar chemical or biologic composition to AZD6244 (or its excipient Captisol) or erlotinib Previous mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MEK) or epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitor use Patients with corrected QT (QTc) interval > 480 msecs or other factors that increase the risk of QT prolongation or arrhythmic events (e.g., heart failure, hypokalemia, family history of long QT interval syndrome) including heart failure that (i) meets New York Heart Association (NYHA) class III and IV definitions or (ii) is demonstrated by an left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction < 55% on baseline echocardiogram, are excluded Required use of a concomitant medication that can prolong the QT interval There are potential interactions between erlotinib and cytochrome P450, family 3, subfamily A, polypeptide 4 (CYP3A4) inhibitors and CYP3A4 promoters; although caution and careful monitoring are recommended when use of these compounds is necessary, use of these compounds does not patients from participating in this trial Refractory nausea and vomiting, chronic gastrointestinal diseases (e.g. inflammatory bowel disease), or significant bowel resection that would preclude adequate absorption Uncontrolled intercurrent illness including, but not limited to, ongoing or active infection or psychiatric illness/social situations that would limit compliance with study requirements