ms-275 and isotretinoin in treating patients with metastatic or advanced solid tumors or lymphomas

Conditions: Adult Grade III Lymphomatoid Granulomatosis; Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma; Angioimmunoblastic T-cell Lymphoma; Extranodal Marginal Zone B-cell Lymphoma of Mucosa-associated Lymphoid Tissue; Intraocular Lymphoma; Nodal Marginal Zone B-cell Lymphoma; Primary Central Nervous System Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma; Recurrent Adult Burkitt Lymphoma; Recurrent Adult Diffuse Large Cell Lymphoma; Recurrent Adult Diffuse Mixed Cell Lymphoma; Recurrent Adult Diffuse Small Cleaved Cell Lymphoma; Recurrent Adult Grade III Lymphomatoid Granulomatosis; Recurrent Adult Hodgkin Lymphoma; Recurrent Adult Immunoblastic Large Cell Lymphoma; Recurrent Adult Lymphoblastic Lymphoma; Recurrent Adult T-cell Leukemia/Lymphoma; Recurrent Cutaneous T-cell Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma; Recurrent Grade 1 Follicular Lymphoma; Recurrent Grade 2 Follicular Lymphoma; Recurrent Grade 3 Follicular Lymphoma; Recurrent Mantle Cell Lymphoma; Recurrent Marginal Zone Lymphoma; Recurrent Mycosis Fungoides/Sezary Syndrome; Recurrent Small Lymphocytic Lymphoma; Small Intestine Lymphoma; Splenic Marginal Zone Lymphoma; Stage IV Adult Burkitt Lymphoma; Stage IV Adult Diffuse Large Cell Lymphoma; Stage IV Adult Diffuse Mixed Cell Lymphoma; Stage IV Adult Diffuse Small Cleaved Cell Lymphoma; Stage IV Adult Hodgkin Lymphoma; Stage IV Adult Immunoblastic Large Cell Lymphoma; Stage IV Adult Lymphoblastic Lymphoma; Stage IV Adult T-cell Leukemia/Lymphoma; Stage IV Cutaneous T-cell Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma; Stage IV Grade 1 Follicular Lymphoma; Stage IV Grade 2 Follicular Lymphoma; Stage IV Grade 3 Follicular Lymphoma; Stage IV Mantle Cell Lymphoma; Stage IV Marginal Zone Lymphoma; Stage IV Mycosis Fungoides/Sezary Syndrome; Stage IV Small Lymphocytic Lymphoma; Unspecified Adult Solid Tumor, Protocol Specific; Waldenström Macroglobulinemia

Summary: phase i trial to study the effectiveness of combining ms-275 with isotretinoin in treating patients who have metastatic or advanced solid tumors or lymphomas. ms-275 may stop the growth of cancer cells by blocking the enzymes necessary for their growth. isotretinoin may help cancer cells develop into normal cells. ms-275 may increase the effectiveness of isotretinoin by making cancer cells more sensitive to the drug. ms-275 and isotretinoin may also stop the growth of solid tumors or lymphomas by stopping blood flow to the cancer. combining ms-275 with isotretinoin may kill more cancer cells

primary objectives: i. determine the dose-limiting toxicity and maximum tolerated dose of ms-275 when administered with isotretinoin in patients with metastatic, progressive, refractory, or unresectable solid tumors or lymphomas. secondary objectives: i. determine, preliminarily, tumor response in patients treated with this regimen. ii. determine the pharmacokinetic profile of this regimen in these patients. outline: this is an open-label, dose-escalation study of ms-275. patients receive oral ms-275 once on days 1, 8, and 15 and oral isotretinoin twice daily on days 1-21. courses repeat every 28 days in the absence of unacceptable toxicity or disease progression. cohorts of 3-6 patients receive escalating doses of ms-275 until the maximum tolerated dose (mtd) is determined. the mtd is defined as the dose preceding that at which 2 of 3 or 2 of 6 patients experience dose-limiting toxicity. up to 12 patients are treated at the mtd. patients are followed monthly.

Eligibility criteria:
inclusion criteria: * histologically confirmed solid tumor or lymphoma * metastatic, progressive, refractory, or unresectable disease * not amenable to standard curative measures * no known brain metastases * performance status - ecog 0-2 * more than 3 months * absolute neutrophil count ≥ 1,500/mm\^3 * platelet count ≥ 100,000/mm\^3 * wbc ≥ 3,000/mm\^3 * hemoglobin \> 9 g/dl * bilirubin ≤ 1.5 times upper limit of normal (uln) * ast and alt ≤ 2.5 times uln * no suspected gilbert's syndrome * creatinine ≤ 1.5 times uln * creatinine clearance ≥ 60 ml/min * no symptomatic congestive heart failure * no unstable angina pectoris * no unstable cardiac arryhthmia * able to take and retain oral medications * no malabsorption problems * no acute or chronic gastrointestinal condition * not pregnant or nursing * negative pregnancy test * fertile patients must use effective double-method contraception 1 month before, during, and 3 months after study treatment * no known hiv positivity * no weight loss \> 10% within the past 2 months * no history of allergic reaction attributed to compounds of similar chemical or biologic composition to ms-275 or isotretinoin * no other uncontrolled illness * no ongoing or active infection * no seizure disorder * no psychiatric illness or social situation that would preclude study participation * more than 4 weeks since prior anticancer vaccine therapy * more than 4 weeks since prior anticancer immunotherapy * no concurrent anticancer vaccine therapy * no concurrent anticancer immunotherapy * more than 4 weeks since prior anticancer chemotherapy (6 weeks for nitrosoureas, mitomycin, or other agents known to cause prolonged marrow supression) * no concurrent anticancer chemotherapy * more than 4 weeks since prior anticancer hormonal therapy except gonadotropin-releasing hormone (gnrh) agonist therapy for non-castrated patients with prostate cancer * concurrent gnrh agonist therapy for non-castrated patients with prostate cancer allowed * concurrent luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone agonist therapy allowed provided there is evidence of tumor progression * concurrent adrenal steroid replacement therapy allowed * no concurrent ketoconazole as second-line hormonal treatment for prostate cancer * no concurrent corticosteroids except for treatment of refractory nausea or vomiting * no other concurrent anticancer hormonal therapy * more than 4 weeks since prior anticancer radiotherapy * more than 2 weeks since prior palliative radiotherapy * no concurrent anticancer radiotherapy * more than 4 weeks since prior major surgery * recovered from all prior therapy * no prior ms-275 * no prior oral isotretinoin * isotretinoin for the treatment of acne allowed provided \> 3 years since prior administration * more than 4 weeks since other prior anticancer therapy * no concurrent tetracycline * no concurrent high-dose vitamin a * no concurrent valproic acid * no other concurrent investigational agents * no other concurrent anticancer therapy