Sulindac and Epirubicin in Treating Patients With Metastatic Malignant Melanoma

RATIONALE: Sulindac may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as epirubicin, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Giving sulindac together with epirubicin may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying how well giving sulindac together with epirubicin works in treating patients with metastatic malignant melanoma.

OBJECTIVES: Primary * To estimate the non-comparative efficacy of sulindac and epirubicin hydrochloride in patients with metastatic malignant melanoma. Secondary * To characterize the toxicity of this regimen in these patients. OUTLINE: This is a multicenter study. Patients receive oral sulindac 2 hours prior to receiving epirubicin hydrochloride IV over 15 minutes on day 1. Treatment repeats every 21 days for 6 courses in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Previously collected tumor blocks are assessed for cancer resistance markers by IHC. After completion of study treatment, patients are followed for 1 month, and then every 3 months thereafter.