Gemcitabine Combined With Mistletoe in Treating Patients With Advanced Solid Tumors

OBJECTIVES: * Determine the maximum tolerated dose of gemcitabine and mistletoe in patients with advanced solid tumors. * Determine the toxic effects of this regimen in these patients. * Determine the pharmacokinetic effects of gemcitabine with and without mistletoe in these patients. * Determine tumor response in patients treated with this regimen. * Determine the time to neutrophil count recovery in patients treated with this regimen. OUTLINE: This is an open-label, dose-escalation study. Patients receive gemcitabine IV over 30 minutes on days 1 and 8 and mistletoe subcutaneously daily starting on day 8 of course 1. Treatment repeats every 21 days for at least 3 courses in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Patients receive escalating doses of gemcitabine and mistletoe in 2 stages. * Stage I: Cohorts of 3-6 patients receive escalating doses of mistletoe in combination with a constant dose of gemcitabine until the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of mistletoe is determined. * Stage II: Cohorts of 3-6 patients receive escalating doses of gemcitabine in combination with the MTD of mistletoe as determined in stage I until the MTD of gemcitabine is determined. In both stages, the MTD is defined as the dose preceding that at which 2 patients experience dose-limiting toxicity. PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 45-51 patients will be accrued for this study.