Sulindac and Epirubicin in Treating Patients With Metastatic Malignant Melanoma

You may be eligible if

• DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:
• Histologically confirmed malignant melanoma
• * Metastatic disease
• Tumor block available for resistance marker analysis
• Measurable or evaluable disease
• No active brain metastases except for patients who have undergone successful complete excision of solitary brain metastasis
• PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:
• Karnofsky performance status 80-100%
• ANC \> 1 x 10\^9/L
• Platelet count \> 100 x 10\^9/L
• Hemoglobin \> 9 g/dL
• Serum bilirubin normal (except in patients with benign congenital hyperbilirubinemia)
• Not pregnant or nursing
• Negative pregnancy test
• Normal cardiac ejection fraction, cardiac wall motion, and ECG
• No active heart disease, including any of the following:
• * Myocardial infarction within the past year
• * Pericarditis
• * Existing hypertension requiring treatment
• No other active serious medical or psychiatric disease
• No prior or concurrent malignancy, other than basal cell carcinoma of the skin , or carcinoma in-situ of the cervix
• PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:
• No prior anthracycline or anthracenedione-containing chemotherapy regimen
• No prior cardiac radiotherapy
• No major surgery within the past 2 weeks
• No participation in any clinical trial within the past 4 weeks
• No other concurrent anticancer therapies
• * Concurrent bisphosphonates allowed in patients with bony metastases with extra-osseous measurable or evaluable lesions
• No other concurrent experimental medications