Soblidotin and Gemcitabine in Treating Patients With Locally Advanced or Metastatic Solid Tumors

Inclusion Criteria

• •DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:
• •Histologically or cytologically confirmed locally advanced or metastatic solid tumors
• •Minimally pretreated
• •Not refractory to prior gemcitabine therapy
• •No disease progression during initial treatment with gemcitabine
• •No symptomatic brain metastases
• •PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:
• •Age
• •18 and over
• •Performance status
• •ECOG 0-2
• •Life expectancy
• •At least 12 weeks
• •Hematopoietic
• •Absolute neutrophil count at least 1,500/mm\^3
• •Platelet count at least 100,000/mm\^3
• •Hepatic
• •Bilirubin no greater than 1.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN)
• •SGOT or SGPT no greater than 2.5 times ULN (5 times ULN if liver metastases are present)
• •Renal
• •Creatinine no greater than 1.5 times ULN
• •Cardiovascular
• •Ejection fraction at least 40% by MUGA
• •Other
• •Not pregnant or nursing
• •Negative pregnancy test
• •Fertile patients must use effective contraception
• •No psychiatric disorder that would preclude study consent or compliance
• •No concurrent severe or uncontrolled underlying medical disease unrelated to the tumor that would compromise patient safety or affect study outcome
• •No hypersensitivity to gemcitabine
• •No other malignancy except nonmelanoma skin cancer or carcinoma in situ of the cervix unless in complete remission and off all therapy for that disease for at least 2 years
• •No serious infection
• •No grade 2 or greater neuropathy
• •PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:
• •Biologic therapy
• •No concurrent anticancer biologic therapy
• •Chemotherapy
• •See Disease Characteristics
• •Recovered from prior chemotherapy
• •No other concurrent anticancer chemotherapy
• •Endocrine therapy
• •Not specified
• •Radiotherapy
• •Recovered from prior radiotherapy
• •No concurrent anticancer radiotherapy
• •Concurrent localized palliative radiotherapy to a non-indicator lesion for pain control allowed only if other methods of pain control are ineffective
• •Surgery
• •At least 4 weeks since prior major surgery and recovered
• •Other
• •More than 28 days since prior investigational drugs, including analgesics or antiemetics
• •At least 4 weeks since prior myelosuppressive therapy
• •No other concurrent anticancer therapy
• •No other concurrent anticancer cytotoxic therapy