Bortezomib in Treating Patients With Metastatic or Recurrent Colorectal Cancer

You may be eligible if

• DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:
• Histologically or cytologically confirmed adenocarcinoma of the colon or rectum that is incurable with conventional therapy
• * Metastatic or recurrent disease
• At least 1 unidimensionally measurable lesion
• At least 20 mm by conventional techniques or at least 10 mm by spiral CT scan
• Disease must be accessible to biopsy
• No known brain metastases
• PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:
• Age
• 18 and over
• Performance status
• ECOG 0-1 OR
• Karnofsky 70-100%
• Life expectancy
• More than 3 months
• Hematopoietic
• Absolute granulocyte count at least 1,500/mm\^3
• WBC at least 3,000/mm\^3
• Platelet count at least 100,000/mm\^3
• Hepatic
• Bilirubin no greater than 1.25 times upper limit of normal (ULN)
• AST or ALT no greater than 3 times ULN (less than 5 times ULN if liver metastases present)
• Renal
• Creatinine no greater than 1.25 times UNL OR
• Creatinine clearance at least 50 mL/min
• Cardiovascular
• No symptomatic congestive heart failure
• No unstable angina pectoris
• No cardiac arrhythmia
• Other
• Not pregnant or nursing
• Negative pregnancy test
• Fertile patients must use effective contraception
• No psychiatric illness or social situation that would preclude study compliance
• No other uncontrolled concurrent illness
• No ongoing or active infection
• No other active malignancy within the past 3 years except curatively treated nonmelanoma skin cancer or carcinoma in situ of the cervix
• No grade 1 or greater peripheral neuropathy due to prior chemotherapy
• No significant traumatic injury within the past 21 days
• PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:
• Biologic therapy
• Not specified
• Chemotherapy
• No more than 1 line of prior chemotherapy (including any combination of fluorouracil, irinotecan, and/or oxaliplatin) for metastatic disease
• At least 4 weeks since prior chemotherapy (6 weeks for nitrosoureas or mitomycin) and recovered
• Prior adjuvant chemotherapy allowed
• No concurrent cytotoxic chemotherapy
• Radiotherapy
• More than 4 weeks since prior radiotherapy and recovered
• No prior radiotherapy to measurable target lesion unless disease progression has occurred after radiotherapy
• No concurrent radiotherapy to the sole site of measurable disease
• Surgery
• More than 21 days since prior major surgery
• Other
• No other concurrent investigational agents
• No concurrent combination antiretroviral therapy for HIV-positive patients