Vorinostat in Treating Patients With Recurrent or Persistent Ovarian Epithelial or Primary Peritoneal Cavity Cancer

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: I. Determine the 6-month progression-free survival rate in patients with recurrent or persistent ovarian epithelial or primary peritoneal cavity cancer treated with vorinostat. II. Determine the toxicity of this drug, in terms of the frequency and severity of adverse reactions in these patients. SECONDARY OBJECTIVES: I. Determine the clinical response rate (partial response and complete response) in patients treated with this drug. II. Determine the duration of progression-free survival and overall survival of patients treated with this drug. III. Determine the impact of prognostic variables (e.g., platinum sensitivity, performance status, and cellular histology) in patients treated with this drug. OUTLINE: This is a nonrandomized, multicenter study. Patients receive oral vorinostat twice daily on days 1-14. Courses repeat every 21 days in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. After completion of study treatment, patients are followed every 3 months for 2 years and then every 6 months for 3 years. PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 22-60 patients will be accrued for this study within approximately 1 year.