Pazopanib Hydrochloride in Treating Patients With Advanced or Progressive Malignant Pheochromocytoma or Paraganglioma

Exclusion Criteria

• •Alkaline phosphatase =\< 2.5 x ULN
• •Creatinine =\< 1.5 mg/dL (133 umol/L) or within normal institutional limits OR creatinine clearance \>= 50 mL/min/1.73m\^2 for subjects with creatinine levels about institutional normal
• •Urine protein/creatinine ratio =\< 1 OR 24-hour urine \< 1 gram
• •Prothrombin time (PT)/international normalized ratio (INR)/partial thromboplastin time (PTT) =\< 1.2 x ULN unless a subject is receiving Coumadin and has stable INR which is in range for the desired level of anticoagulation
• •Blood pressure (BP) \< 140 mmHg (systolic) and \< 90 mmHg (diastolic); initiation or adjustment of BP medication is permitted prior to registration provided that the average of three BP readings at a visit prior to registration is \< 140/90 mmHg
• •* NOTE: All patients with secretory pheochromocytomas or paragangliomas are required to: 1) be evaluated in consultation by a hypertension specialist (at the registering institution) with experience in the management of hypertension in the setting of catecholamine-secreting tumors (usually an endocrinologist, nephrologist, or a cardiologist), and in the setting of hormone-associated hypertension 2) receive alpha- and beta-adrenergic blockade for at least 7 days prior to initiation of pazopanib (GW786034); the hypertension specialist of record for each patient should be committed to following the patient during the clinical study with evaluation by said specialist required at all run-in cycle evaluations (cycles 1 and 2) and also after the first continuous dosing cycle (cycle 3) and thereafter on an as needed basis
• •Negative serum pregnancy test done =\< 7 days prior to registration, for women of childbearing potential only
• •Ability to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent document
• •Willingness to donate blood and tissue for correlative marker studies
• •Any of the following:
• •* Pregnant women
• •* Nursing women
• •* Men or women of childbearing potential who are unwilling to employ adequate contraception NOTE: breastfeeding should be discontinued if the mother is treated with pazopanib (GW786034)
• •Any of the following:
• •* Chemotherapy/systemic therapy =\< 4 weeks prior to registration
• •* Radiotherapy =\< 4 weeks prior to registration
• •* Surgery =\< 4 weeks prior to registration
• •* Nitrosoureas or mitomycin C =\< 6 weeks prior to registration
• •* Those who have not recovered from adverse events due to agents administered more than 4 weeks earlier NOTE: Concurrent therapy with octreotide is allowed providing that tumor progression on this therapy has been demonstrated; concurrent therapy with bisphosphonates (e.g. zoledronic acid) or denosumab is also allowed.
• •NOTE: An unlimited number of prior chemotherapeutic or biologic therapies for malignant pheochromocytoma or paraganglioma is permitted; this includes prior anti-angiogenesis therapies such as tyrosine kinase inhibitors
• •Any other ongoing investigational agents
• •History of allergic reactions attributed to compounds of similar chemical or biologic composition to pazopanib (GW786034) or other agents used in the study
• •Any of the following:
• •* Corrected QT (QTc) prolongation (defined as a QTc interval \>= 500 msecs)
• •* Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) \< institutional lower limit of normal (LLN)
• •* Frequent ventricular ectopy
• •* Evidence of ongoing myocardial ischemia
• •Receiving prohibited cytochrome P450 (CYP) interactive concomitant medications within 7 days prior to registration
• •Any condition (e.g., gastrointestinal tract disease resulting in an inability to take oral medication or a requirement for intravenous (IV) alimentation, prior surgical procedures affecting absorption, or active peptic ulcer disease) that impairs their ability to swallow and retain pazopanib (GW786034)
• •Receiving any medications or substances with risk of torsades de pointes; note: medications or substances with risk of torsades de pointes are prohibited; medications or substances with possible or conditional risk of torsades de pointes may be used while on study with extreme caution and careful monitoring; patients receiving these later cautionary agents must be monitored serially with electrocardiogram (ECG) weekly during the run-in and first cycle of therapy and at each evaluation thereafter NOTE: These medications should be discontinued or replaced with drugs that do not carry these risks, if possible
• •Any of the following conditions:
• •* Active peptic ulcer disease
• •* Known intraluminal bowel metastatic lesions
• •* Inflammatory bowel disease (e.g., ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease) or other gastrointestinal conditions which increase the risk of perforation
• •* History of new abdominal fistula, gastrointestinal perforation or intra-abdominal abscess =\< 84 days prior to registration; enrollment of patients with chronic/canalized fistulous tracts (present for \> 84 days) is allowed
• •* Serious or non-healing wound, ulcer, or bone fracture
• •* History of familial QTc prolongation syndrome
• •Any of the following conditions =\< 185 days prior to registration:
• •* Cerebrovascular accident (CVA) or transient ischemic attack (TIA)
• •* Cardiac arrhythmia
• •* Admission for unstable angina
• •* Cardiac angioplasty or stenting
• •* Coronary artery bypass graft surgery
• •* Pulmonary embolism, untreated deep venous thrombosis (DVT) or DVT which has been treated with therapeutic anticoagulation \< 42 days
• •* Arterial thrombosis
• •* Symptomatic peripheral vascular disease
• •* Class III or IV heart failure as defined by the New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional classification system
• •Hemoptysis in excess of 2.5 mL (1/2 teaspoon) =\< 60 days prior to registration
• •Any of the following:
• •* Known active and/or untreated brain metastases
• •* Brain metastases requiring ongoing therapy (e.g. corticosteroids)
• •Uncontrolled intercurrent illness including, but not limited to, ongoing or active infection or psychiatric illness/social situations that would limit compliance with study requirements
• •Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive patients on combination antiretroviral therapy
• •Require heparin other than low-molecular weight heparin
• •Prior use of pazopanib (GW786034)