Sulindac and Epirubicin in Treating Patients With Metastatic Malignant Melanoma

Inclusion Criteria

• •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