Sotrastaurin Acetate in Treating Patients With Relapsed or Refractory Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, Small Lymphocytic Leukemia, Prolymphocytic Leukemia, or Richter's Transformation

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: I. To determine the objective clinical response rate of AEB071 (sotrastaurin acetate) treatment in patients with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)/small lymphocytic leukemia (SLL)/prolymphocytic leukemia (PLL)/Richter's transformation (RT). SECONDARY OBJECTIVES: I. To determine the feasibility and tolerability of long-term administration of a fixed dose of AEB071 in patients with relapsed or refractory CLL/SLL/PLL. II. To examine select downstream pharmacodynamic effects in this population of patients after receiving AEB071 including assessment of the wingless-type MMTV integration site family (WNT) signaling pathway. III. To determine the feasibility and tolerability of AEB071 treatment in patients with relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) as well as to gain preliminary data regarding efficacy in this patient population. TERTIARY OBJECTIVES: I. Determine the proportion of patients with select germline and somatic deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) alterations, including in the B-cell receptor (BCR) pathway. II. Determine how mutational and transcriptional status in key genes affects response to this therapy and may have affected response to prior therapies. OUTLINE: Patients receive sotrastaurin acetate orally (PO) twice daily (BID) on days 1-28. Courses repeat every 28 days in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. After completion of study treatment, patients are followed up at 30 days and then at least every 3 months thereafter.