Depsipeptide in Unresectable Recurrent or Metastatic Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck

Inclusion Criteria

• •histologically or cytologically confirmed squamous cell cancer of the head and neck (MedDRA code 90002024), excluding nasopharyngeal primaries, which is unresectable or metastatic; the disease must be incurable with surgery or radiation therapy; the tumor should preferably be present at the primary site, and it must be accessible to planned biopsy methods
• •Measurable disease by RECIST,
• •May have received any number of prior systemic chemotherapy regimen for unresectable, recurrent or metastatic disease; if the only site of measurable disease is a previously irradiated area, the patient must have documented progressive disease or biopsy-proven residual carcinoma; persistent disease after radiotherapy must be biopsy-proven at least 8 weeks after the completion of radiotherapy
• •Life expectancy of greater than 3 months
• •Normal organ and marrow function as defined by the following labs performed =\< 2 weeks of study entry:
• •Leukocytes ≥ 3,000/uL
• •Absolute Neutrophil Count ≥ 1,500/uL
• •Hemoglobin ≥ 10 gm%
• •Platelets ≥ 100,000/uL
• •Total Bilirubin =\< 1.5 X upper normal institutional limit
• •AST(SGOT)/ALT(SGPT) =\< 2.5 X upper normal institutional limits
• •Creatinine within normal institutional limits OR creatinine clearance ≥ 60 mL/min/1.73 m\^2 for patients with creatinine levels above institutional normal
• •PT/PTT =\< 1.1X upper normal institutional limits
• •Calcium within normal institutional limits
• •CPK, Troponin within normal institutional limits
• •Uric Acid within normal institutional limits
• •Ability to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent document; in addition to consent for the therapy, patients must give consent to required pre- and post-therapy blood and tissue samples;