AZD2171 + Chemotherapy in Advanced NSCLC, Colorectal Cancer, or Other Cancer Suitable for Treatment With Capecitabine (Non-Small Lung Cancer Patients Closed to Enrollment as 8/9/07)

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

* Histologically or cytologically confirmed diagnosis of 1 of the following:

  * Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) (closed to accrual as of 8/9/07) meeting 1 of the following stage criteria:

    * Stage IIIB disease

      * Patients without pleural effusion who are not candidates for combined modality treatment OR who were treated at centers where combined modality treatment is not considered standard treatment are eligible
    * Stage IV disease
    * Local or metastatic failure after prior surgery and/or radiotherapy
  * Colorectal cancer

    * Metastatic disease
    * Considered suitable for first-line therapy with capecitabine
  * Other tumor types

    * Suitable for treatment with capecitabine
    * No more than 2 prior chemotherapy regimens for advanced or metastatic disease
* Incurable by radiotherapy or surgery
* Clinically or radiologically documented disease

  * No tumor marker elevation as the only evidence of disease
* No necrotic or hemorrhagic tumor or metastases
* No untreated brain or meningeal metastases

  * Patients with previously treated stable brain metastases (by radiography or clinical exam) are eligible provided they are asymptomatic and do not require corticosteroids

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Age

* 18 and over

Performance status

* ECOG 0-2

Life expectancy

* At least 12 weeks (colorectal cancer patients)

Hematopoietic

* Hemoglobin adequate

  * Anemia allowed provided patient is well compensated with no evidence of recent bleeding
* Absolute granulocyte count ≥ 1,500/mm\^3
* Platelet count ≥ 100,000/mm\^3
* No overt bleeding (i.e., ≥ 30 mL/episode) within the past 3 months

Hepatic

* Bilirubin ≤ 1.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN)
* ALT or AST ≤ 2 times ULN (5 times ULN for documented liver metastases)

Renal

* Creatinine ≤ 1.5 times ULN OR
* Creatinine clearance ≥ 50 mL/min
* No proteinuria \> grade 1

Cardiovascular

* Resting systolic blood pressure ≤ 150 mm Hg AND/OR resting diastolic blood pressure ≤ 100 mm Hg (in the presence or absence of a stable dose of antihypertensive medication)
* Mean QTc ≤ 470 msec (with Bazetts correction) by ECG
* LVEF \> 50% for patients with prior anthracyclines/trastuzumab or cardio-toxic agents
* No untreated or uncontrolled cardiovascular condition
* No symptomatic cardiac dysfunction
* No poorly controlled hypertension
* No history of labile hypertension
* No history of poor compliance with antihypertensive medication
* No history of familial long QT syndrome

Pulmonary

* No clinically relevant hemoptysis (i.e., ≥ 5 mL fresh blood) within the past 4 weeks

  * Patients with only flecks of blood in their sputum are eligible

Other

* Not pregnant or nursing
* Negative pregnancy test
* Fertile patients must use effective (double-method for females; barrier method for males) contraception
* No prior allergic reaction to drugs containing Cremophor EL® (NSCLC patients \[closed to accrual as of 8/9/07\])
* No peripheral neuropathy \> grade 1 (NSCLC patients \[closed to accrual as of 8/9/07\])
* No dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase deficiency (colorectal cancer patients)
* No history of severe hand-foot syndrome after treatment with fluoropyrimidines (colorectal cancer patients)
* No other malignancy within the past 5 years except adequately treated nonmelanoma skin cancer or other curatively treated solid tumor
* No active or uncontrolled infection
* No other serious illness or medical condition that would preclude study participation

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

Biologic therapy

* No prior antiangiogenesis therapy

Chemotherapy

* At least 4 weeks since prior single-agent non-platinum-containing chemotherapy (6 weeks for nitrosoureas or mitomycin) for metastatic disease (NSCLC patients \[closed to accrual as of 8/9/07\])

  * No more than 1 prior single-agent non-platinum-containing chemotherapy regimen for metastatic disease
* At least 6 months since prior adjuvant or neoadjuvant chemotherapy
* No prior taxane therapy (NSCLC patients \[closed to accrual as of 8/9/07\])
* No prior chemotherapy for metastatic disease (colorectal cancer patients)
* No prior capecitabine (colorectal cancer patients)

Endocrine therapy

* See Disease Characteristics
* At least 4 weeks since prior corticosteroids

Radiotherapy

* See Disease Characteristics
* At least 21 days since prior palliative radiotherapy except for low-dose non-myelosuppressive radiotherapy with approval
* At least 6 months since prior adjuvant radiotherapy

Surgery

* See Disease Characteristics
* At least 14 days since prior major surgery

Other

* Recovered from prior therapy
* At least 14 days since prior epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitor therapy
* Concurrent oral anticoagulants (e.g., warfarin) allowed provided INR is strictly monitored
* No other concurrent investigational therapy
* No other concurrent anticancer therapy
* No concurrent prophylactic pyridoxine (vitamin B\_6) for hand-foot syndrome (colorectal or other tumor type patients)

  * Use of pyridoxine after the onset of hand-foot syndrome allowed at the discretion of the physician