Nilotinib in TKI Resistant or Intolerant Patients With Metastatic Mucosal, Acral, or Chronically Sun Damaged Melanoma

OBJECTIVES: Primary \* To estimate the proportion of patients, with metastatic mucosal, acral, or chronically sun damaged melanomas, whose tumors have KIT aberrations, and who progressed or could not tolerate a KIT targeting tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) (e.g. including but not limited to imatinib mesylate, sunitinib, or dasatanib), who are alive and without progression of disease four months after beginning treatment with nilotinib. Secondary * To determine early evidence of biologic and clinical activity by best overall response rate. * To estimate time to progression of disease and overall survival. * To determine the tolerability of nilotinib. * To evaluate the use of FDG-PET scanning in determining early biologic response to therapy. * To correlate c-kit mutational status and amplification status with response to therapy. * To evaluate the feasibility of nilotinib. * To evaluate the tolerability of nilotinib in patients with brain metastases.