Dinaciclib in Treating Patients With Stage IV Melanoma

This phase II trial is studying the side effects and how well dinaciclib works in treating patients with stage IV melanoma. Dinaciclib may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth.

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: I. To assess the 1-year overall survival rate in patients with stage IV melanoma treated with dinaciclib. SECONDARY OBJECTIVES: I. To assess the 6-month progression-free survival rate in these patients. II. To evaluate the response rate (confirmed and unconfirmed complete and partial responses) in the subset of patients with measurable disease. III. To assess the safety and tolerability of dinaciclib given to patients with stage IV melanoma. OUTLINE: This is a multicenter study. Patients receive dinaciclib IV over 2 hours on day 1. Treatment repeats every 21 days in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. After completion of study treatment, patients are followed up every 6 months for up to 3 years.