3-AP in Treating Patients With Advanced or Metastatic Solid Tumors

You may be eligible if

• Criteria:
• Must be able to swallow
• Histologically confirmed solid tumor
• Advanced or metastatic disease
• Measurable or evaluable disease
• No known active CNS metastases
• ECOG performance status 0-1
• Life expectancy \> 3 months
• Progressive disease during \>= 1 prior standard therapy OR disease unlikely to respond to any currently available therapies
• Patients with previously treated CNS metastases who have no evidence of new CNS metastases AND are stable for \>= 2 months are eligible
• Platelet count \>= 100,000/mm\^3
• Hemoglobin \>= 10 g/dL (transfusions allowed)
• Absolute neutrophil count \>= 1,500/mm\^3
• ALT and AST =\< 2.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN)
• Alkaline phosphatase =\< 2.5 times ULN
• Creatinine =\< 1.5 mg/dL OR creatinine clearance \>= 50 mL/min
• Bilirubin normal
• PT/PTT =\< 1.5 times ULN
• FEV1 \>= 1.2 L
• Not pregnant or nursing
• Negative pregnancy test
• Fertile patients must use effective contraception 2 weeks prior to and during study treatment
• No mental deficits and/or psychiatric history that may preclude study treatment
• No active heart disease, including any of the following: myocardial infarction within the past 3 months, symptomatic coronary artery disease or heart block, uncontrolled congestive heart failure
• No moderate to severe compromise of pulmonary function
• No active infection
• No other life-threatening illness
• No active coagulation disorder other than occult blood
• No known positivity for glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency
• Recovered from prior treatment
• Prior gemcitabine allowed
• More than 3 weeks since prior chemotherapy (6 weeks for nitrosoureas or mitomycin)
• More than 3 weeks since prior radiotherapy or any other treatment for this cancer
• No prior 3-AP
• No concurrent radiotherapy
• No other concurrent investigational agent