PROTOCOL ENTRY CRITERIA:

--Disease Characteristics-- Histologically or cytologically confirmed adenocarcinoma of the pancreas or ampullae of vater not amenable to curative surgery Metastases confined to abdominal cavity May include peripancreatic lymph nodes, peritoneal carcinomatosis, and hepatic metastases Extrapancreatic disease must be resectable Must have progressive disease if received any prior therapy No distant metastases, including lung or bone metastases --Prior/Concurrent Therapy-- Biologic therapy: No concurrent immunotherapy for pancreatic cancer Chemotherapy: No prior gemcitabine or fluorouracil Endocrine therapy: No concurrent hormonal therapy for pancreatic cancer Radiotherapy: No prior radiotherapy for pancreatic cancer No prior abdominal or pelvic radiotherapy Surgery: See Disease Characteristics Other: At least 30 days since prior anticancer therapy and recovered --Patient Characteristics-- Age: 18 and over Performance status: ECOG 0-2 Life expectancy: Not specified Hematopoietic: Absolute neutrophil count greater than 2,000/mm3 Platelet count greater than 100,000/mm3 Hepatic: SGOT and SGPT less than 4 times upper limit of normal No active hepatitis Renal: Creatinine less than 1.5 mg/dL OR Creatinine clearance greater than 60 mL/min Cardiovascular: No significant reversible ischemic changes in wall motion or perfusion with stress (correction using angiography and angioplasty allowed) No significant resting left ventricle dysfunction No unstable angina No New York Heart Association class III or IV heart disease No myocardial infarction within past 6 months Other: Not pregnant or nursing Negative pregnancy test Fertile patients must use effective contraception No active disease increasing possibility of infection, including AIDS and other autoimmune disorders No other medical condition or psychiatric disease that would preclude study No other concurrent malignancy except nonmelanoma skin cancer or carcinoma in situ of the cervix