S0509 - AZD2171 in Treating Patients With Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma That Cannot Be Removed By Surgery

Inclusion Criteria

• •Histologically confirmed epithelial, sarcomatous, or biphasic malignant pleural mesothelioma
• •* Unresectable disease
• •* Residual disease after prior cytoreductive surgery allowed
• •Measurable disease by CT scan or MRI
• •Prior treatment with platinum-based chemotherapy required
• •No known CNS metastasis
• •Performance status
• •* Zubrod 0-2
• •WBC \>= 3,000/mm\^3
• •Absolute neutrophil count \>= 1,500/mm\^3
• •Platelet count \>= 100,000/mm\^3
• •AST or ALT =\< 1.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN)
• •Bilirubin normal
• •Creatinine =\< 1.5 times ULN OR
• •Creatinine clearance \>= 50 mL/min
• •Proteinuria =\< 1+ by 2 consecutive dipstick tests taken \>= 1 week apart
• •No history of familial long QT syndrome
• •Mean QTc =\< 470 msec
• •Systolic BP =\< 150 mm Hg AND diastolic BP =\< 100 mm Hg
• •Must have New York Heart Association class I or II disease
• •* Class II must be controlled with treatment
• •Able to swallow and/or receive enteral medications via gastrostomy feeding tube
• •Not requiring IV alimentation
• •No active peptic ulcer
• •No intractable nausea or vomiting
• •Not pregnant or nursing
• •Fertile patients must use effective contraception
• •No other malignancy within the past 5 years except adequately treated basal cell or squamous cell skin cancer, carcinoma in situ of the cervix, or adequately treated stage I or II cancer in remission
• •No history of hypersensitivity reaction to compounds of similar chemical or biological composition to the study drug
• •Prior monoclonal antibody therapy targeting vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), VEGF receptor 1(VEGFR1) or VEGF receptor 2 (VEGFR2) allowed
• •No other prior immunotherapy or biologic therapy
• •No prior thymidine kinase inhibitor against VEGFR1 or VEGFR2
• •No concurrent drugs or biologics with proarrhythmic potential
• •No more than 1 prior chemotherapy regimen
• •At least 28 days since prior chemotherapy (42 days for nitrosoureas or mitomycin) and recovered
• •At least 21 days since prior radiotherapy and recovered
• •At least 28 days since prior major surgery (e.g., thoracotomy or laparotomy) and recovered
• •No prior surgery that would affect absorption
• •Stable antihypertensive therapy allowed provided blood pressure (BP) parameters are met
• •Concurrent enrollment on SWOG-S9925 allowed
• •No concurrent combination antiretroviral therapy for HIV-positive patients