VEGF Trap in Treating Patients With Relapsed or Refractory Solid Tumors or Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma

RATIONALE: VEGF Trap may stop the growth of solid tumors or non-Hodgkin's lymphoma by stopping blood flow to the cancer.

PURPOSE: Phase I trial to study the effectiveness of VEGF Trap in patients who have relapsed or refractory solid tumors or non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

OBJECTIVES:

* Determine the safety and tolerability of VEGF Trap in patients with incurable relapsed or refractory solid tumors or non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
* Determine the maximum tolerated dose of this drug in these patients.
* Determine the pharmacokinetics of this drug in these patients.
* Evaluate the ability of this drug to bind and inactivate circulating vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in these patients.
* Determine the dosing regimen that is optimal for neutralization of circulating VEGF in these patients.
* Determine whether antibodies to this drug develop in these patients.
* Assess, preliminarily, the ability of this drug to alter tumor vascular permeability and tumor growth in these patients.

OUTLINE: This is a dose-escalation study.

Patients receive VEGF Trap subcutaneously once daily on days 1, 29, 36, 43, 50, 57, and 64 in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.

Cohorts of 1-6 patients receive escalating doses of VEGF Trap until the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) is determined. The MTD is defined as the dose preceding that at which 2 of 6 patients experience dose-limiting toxicity. Once the MTD is determined, 5 additional patients are treated at the MTD.

Patients are followed at 1 and 4 weeks.

PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A maximum of 30 patients will be accrued for this study.

Eligibility Criteria:
DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

* Histologically confirmed incurable primary or metastatic solid tumor or non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

  * Relapsed after or is refractory (e.g., unresectable) to at least 2 standard chemotherapy regimens and rituximab
  * No standard curative surgery, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, other antitumor therapy, or radiotherapy options exist
* No known or suspected squamous cell carcinoma of the lung
* No prior or concurrent CNS (brain or leptomeningeal) metastases
* No prior or concurrent primary intracranial tumor by MRI or CT scan

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Age:

* 25 and over

Performance status:

* ECOG 0-2

Life expectancy:

* Not specified

Hematopoietic:

* WBC at least 3,500/mm\^3
* Absolute neutrophil count at least 1,500/mm\^3
* Platelet count at least 100,000/mm\^3
* Hemoglobin at least 9.0 g/dL
* No other severe or uncontrolled hematologic condition

Hepatic:

* Bilirubin no greater than 1.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN)
* AST and ALT no greater than 2 times ULN
* Alkaline phosphatase no greater than 2 times ULN
* PT, PTT, and INR normal

Renal:

* Creatinine no greater than ULN
* No 1+ or greater proteinuria
* No other severe or uncontrolled renal condition

Cardiovascular:

* Electrocardiogram normal
* LVEF normal by echocardiogram or MUGA scan within the past 12 months or since completion of prior anthracycline
* No severe or uncontrolled cardiovascular condition
* No New York Heart Association class III or IV heart disease
* No active coronary artery disease, angina, congestive heart failure, or arrhythmia
* No myocardial infarction within the past 6 months
* No prior or concurrent peripheral vascular disease, including:

  * Angiographically or ultrasonographically documented arterial or venous occlusive event
  * Symptomatic claudication
* No untreated or uncontrolled hypertension
* No treated blood pressure more than 160/100 mm Hg on at least 3 repeated determinations on separate days within the past 6 weeks
* No symptomatic orthostatic hypotension

Pulmonary:

* No severe or uncontrolled pulmonary condition
* No pulmonary embolism

Other:

* No prior hypersensitivity reactions to any recombinant proteins (e.g., VEGF Trap)
* No severe or uncontrolled gastrointestinal, immunological, or musculoskeletal condition
* No severe or uncontrolled psychiatric or adverse social circumstance that would preclude study
* No active infection requiring antibiotics
* HIV negative
* Not pregnant or nursing
* Negative pregnancy test
* Fertile patients must use effective double-barrier contraception during and for at least 3 months after study

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

Biologic therapy:

* See Disease Characteristics
* At least 3 weeks since prior immunotherapy
* No concurrent epoetin alfa, filgrastim (G-CSF), or sargramostim (GM-CSF)

Chemotherapy:

* See Disease Characteristics
* At least 3 weeks since prior chemotherapy

Endocrine therapy:

* No concurrent adrenal corticosteroids, except low doses as replacement therapy in patients who have previously received suppressive doses or for adrenal insufficiency
* No concurrent systemic hormonal contraceptive agents

Radiotherapy:

* See Disease Characteristics
* At least 3 weeks since prior radiotherapy

Surgery:

* See Disease Characteristics
* At least 3 weeks since prior surgery (except fine needle biopsy/aspiration or removal/biopsy of a skin lesion)
* No prior surgical procedure for correction or prophylaxis of peripheral vascular insufficiency or cerebral ischemic events

Other:

* Recovered from prior therapy
* At least 6 months since prior treatment for acute congestive heart failure
* At least 30 days since prior investigational drugs
* No concurrent standard or other investigational anticancer agents
* No concurrent herbal supplements ("nutraceuticals")
* No concurrent anticoagulant or antiplatelet drugs, (e.g., warfarin, heparin, aspirin, or other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) except selective cyclo-oxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitors for analgesia
* No concurrent COX-2 inhibitors for tumor treatment or prophylaxis