Sorafenib Tosylate With or Without Doxorubicin Hydrochloride in Treating Patients With Locally Advanced or Metastatic Liver Cancer

This randomized phase III trial studies sorafenib tosylate and doxorubicin hydrochloride to see how well they work compared with sorafenib tosylate alone in treating patients with liver cancer that has spread to nearby tissue or lymph nodes or has spread to other places in the body. Sorafenib tosylate may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth and by blocking blood flow to the tumor. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as doxorubicin hydrochloride, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. It is not yet known whether giving sorafenib tosylate together with doxorubicin hydrochloride is more effective than sorafenib tosylate alone in treating liver cancer.

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: I. Compare the overall survival (OS) of patients treated with sorafenib (sorafenib tosylate) and doxorubicin (doxorubicin hydrochloride) to that of those treated with sorafenib. SECONDARY OBJECTIVES: I. Compare time to progression (TTP) of patients treated with sorafenib and doxorubicin to that of those treated with sorafenib. II. Compare progression-free-survival (PFS) of patients treated with sorafenib and doxorubicin to that of those treated with sorafenib. III. Compare tumor response using Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) criteria of patients treated with sorafenib and doxorubicin to that of those treated with sorafenib. OUTLINE: Patients are randomized to 1 of 2 treatment arms. ARM I: Patients receive doxorubicin hydrochloride intravenously (IV) on day 1 and sorafenib tosylate orally (PO) once daily (QD) or twice daily (BID) on days 1-21. Treatment repeats every 21 days for 6 courses in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. After 6 courses, patients may continue to receive sorafenib tosylate PO QD or BID in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. ARM II: Patients receive sorafenib tosylate PO QD or BID on days 1-21. Courses repeat every 21 days in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. After completion of study treatment, patients are followed up every 3 months for 1 year and then every 6 months for 2 years.