Irofulven in Treating Children With Recurrent or Refractory Solid Tumors

OBJECTIVES: I. Determine the maximum tolerated dose and dose limiting toxicity of 6-hydroxymethylacylfulvene (MGI-114) in pediatric patients with recurrent or refractory solid tumors. II. Determine the incidence and severity of other toxic effects of MGI-114. III. Determine a safe and tolerable dose of MGI-114 to be used in phase II studies. IV. Determine the pharmacokinetics of MGI-114 in these patients. V. Determine preliminary evidence of antitumor activity of MGI-114 against recurrent or refractory pediatric solid tumors. OUTLINE: This is a dose escalation study. If the dose limiting toxicity is myelosuppression in stratum 1, then stratum 1 is closed and stratum 2 opens. Stratum 2 consists of the following: patients receiving no more than 2 prior chemotherapy regimens; patients who have not received prior central axis radiation or bone marrow transplantation; and patients with no known bone marrow involvement. Patients receive intravenous 6-hydroxymethylacylfulvene over 10 minutes daily for 5 days. The course is repeated every 28 days unless disease progression or unacceptable toxic effects are observed. Patients with stable or responding disease may receive up to 1 year of therapy. If dose limiting toxicity occurs in 2 of 6 patients at a given dose level, then dose escalation ceases and the next lower dose is declared the maximum tolerated dose. Dose escalation will not occur until all patients within a cohort have been observed for 28 days from day 1 of therapy. Patients are followed until death.