Bevacizumab and Erlotinib in Treating Patients With Recurrent or Metastatic Head and Neck Cancer

Inclusion Criteria:

* Histologically or cytologically confirmed squamous cell cancer of the head and neck

  * Recurrent or metastatic disease
  * Determined to be incurable by surgery or radiotherapy
* Measurable disease
* No tumor involvement encasing or too close in proximity to a major artery or vein
* No known brain metastases
* No prior or concurrent CNS disease
* No primary brain tumor
* Performance status - ECOG 0-2
* Performance status - Karnofsky 60-100%
* More than 12 weeks
* No history of bleeding diathesis
* WBC at least 3,000/mm\^3
* Absolute neutrophil count at least 1,500/mm\^3
* Platelet count at least 100,000/mm\^3
* INR less than 1.5
* Bilirubin normal
* AST and ALT no greater than 2.5 times upper limit of normal
* Creatinine normal
* Creatinine clearance at least 60 mL/min
* No significant renal impairment
* 24-hour urinary protein less than 0.5 g required if more than trace proteinuria at baseline
* No uncontrolled hypertension
* No symptomatic congestive heart failure
* No serious cardiac arrhythmia requiring medication
* No deep venous thrombosis
* No prior stroke
* No New York Heart Association class II-IV heart disease
* No grade II-IV peripheral vascular disease within the past year
* No arterial thromboembolic event within the past 6 months, including any of the following:

  * Unstable angina pectoris
  * Myocardial infarction
  * Transient ischemic attack
  * Cerebrovascular accident
* No clinically significant peripheral artery disease
* No significant ophthalmologic abnormalities\* including any of the following:

  * Severe dry eye syndrome
  * Keratoconjunctivitis sicca
  * Sjögren's syndrome
  * Severe exposure keratopathy
  * Disorders that might increase the risk for epithelium-related complications (e.g., bullous keratopathy, aniridia, severe chemical burns, neutrophilic keratitis)
* Not pregnant or nursing
* Negative pregnancy test
* Fertile patients must use effective contraception
* No prior allergic reactions to compounds of similar chemical or biologic composition to bevacizumab or other study agents
* No known hypersensitivity to Chinese hamster ovary cell products or other recombinant human antibodies
* No significant traumatic injury within the past 28 days
* No other concurrent uncontrolled illness
* No psychiatric illness or social situation that would preclude study compliance
* No ongoing or active infection requiring parenteral antibiotics
* No serious non-healing wound ulcer or bone fracture
* No seizures not controlled by standard medical therapy
* More than 4 weeks since prior chemotherapy (6 weeks for nitrosoureas or mitomycin)
* More than 4 weeks since prior radiotherapy
* More than 4 weeks since prior major surgery
* More than 4 weeks since prior open biopsy
* Recovered from prior therapy
* No more than 1 prior regimen for recurrent disease
* No prior epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-based therapy for recurrent disease
* No prior vascular EGFR-based therapy for recurrent disease
* No other concurrent investigational agents
* No other concurrent anticancer agents or therapies
* No concurrent combination antiretroviral therapy for HIV-positive patients
* No concurrent chronic use of aspirin (325 mg/day or more) or other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
* No concurrent warfarin or heparin, including low-molecular weight heparin
* No other concurrent or recent (within 1 month) thrombolytic agents or full-dose anticoagulants (except to maintain patency of preexisting, permanent indwelling IV catheters)