DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Histologically or cytologically documented adenocarcinoma of the pancreas

  • Recurrent or progressive disease

• Metastatic disease

  • Metastatic disease to brain allowed if patient has undergone prior radiotherapy or is stable, and is not receiving steroids or anticonvulsants
• Must have received 1 prior gemcitabine hydrochloride-based regimen (with or without radiation therapy)

• Measurable tumor, defined as any lesion ≥ 1 cm by spiral CT scan or ≥ 2 cm by conventional methods

  • Positive bone scans, osteoblastic or osteolytic bone lesions, pleural effusions, and positive bone marrow biopsies are not considered measurable or evaluable disease

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

• Not pregnant or nursing
• Negative pregnancy test
• Fertile patients must use effective contraception during and for 60 days after completion of study treatment
• ECOG performance status 0, 1, or 2
• Granulocyte count ≥ 1,500/mm^3
• Platelet count ≥ 100,000/mm^3
• Hemoglobin ≥ 8.0 g/dL
• Creatinine ≤ 2.0 mg/dL
• Creatine clearance > 30 mL/min
• Bilirubin normal
• SGOT and/or SGPT ≤ 2.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN) AND alkaline phosphatase (AP) normal OR AP ≤ 4 times ULN AND SGOT and/or SGPT normal
• No concurrent clinically evident malignancy except inactive nonmelanoma skin cancer, low-grade low-stage bladder carcinoma being followed off therapy, treated in situ cervical cancer, or lobular neoplasia of the breast
• No serious uncontrolled medical or psychiatric illness that would render chemotherapy unsafe
• No clinical AIDS or HIV positivity
• No peripheral neuropathy > grade 1
• No history of severe hypersensitivity reaction to drugs formulated with polysorbate 80
• No prior unanticipated severe reaction to fluoropyrimidine therapy or known sensitivity to fluorouracil
• No clinically significant cardiac disease (e.g., congestive heart failure, symptomatic coronary artery disease, or cardiac arrhythmias not well controlled with medication) or myocardial infarction within the past 12 months
• No lack of physical integrity of the upper gastrointestinal tract or malabsorption syndrome

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

• See Disease Characteristics
• Recovered from prior therapy
• At least 3 weeks since prior chemotherapy
• At least 30 days since prior experimental agent
• At least 4 weeks since prior palliative radiotherapy for the primary tumor
• No prior capecitabine or docetaxel
• More than 4 weeks since prior major surgery and recovered
• At least 4 weeks since prior sorivudine or brivudine
• No concurrent sorivudine or brivudine
• No concurrent enrollment in another clinical trial