Tanespimycin in Treating Patients With Inoperable Locoregionally Advanced or Metastatic Thyroid Cancer

Inclusion Criteria:

* Diagnosis of thyroid carcinoma of 1 of the following types:

  * Medullary
  * Differentiated

    * Iodine I 131-resistant disease, defined as failure to incorporate and/or progression of measurable disease after treatment with iodine I 131
* Inoperable locoregionally advanced or metastatic disease
* Measurable disease, defined as ≥ 1 lesion ≥ 2.0 cm by conventional techniques OR ≥ 1.0 cm by spiral CT scan
* No active CNS metastases
* Performance status - ECOG 0-2
* Absolute neutrophil count ≥ 1,500/mm\^3
* Platelet count ≥ 100,000/mm\^3
* Hemoglobin ≥ 9.0 g/dL
* Bilirubin ≤ normal
* Alkaline phosphatase ≤ 2.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN)
* AST ≤ 1.5 times ULN
* Creatinine ≤ 1.5 times ULN
* QTc \< 450 msec for male patients (470 msec for female patients)
* LVEF \> 40% by MUGA
* DLCO ≥ 80%
* No cardiac symptoms ≥ grade 2
* No active ischemic heart disease within the past year
* No congenital long QT syndrome
* No left bundle branch block
* No history of serious ventricular arrhythmia (i.e., ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation ≥ 3 beats in a row)
* No myocardial infarction within the past year
* No New York Heart Association class III or IV congestive heart failure
* No poorly controlled angina
* No history of angina (of any sort) within the past 6 months
* No history of uncontrolled dysrhythmias or requiring antiarrhythmic drugs
* No history of cardiac toxicity after treatment with anthracyclines (e.g., doxorubicin hydrochloride, daunorubicin hydrochloride, mitoxantrone hydrochloride, bleomycin, or carmustine)
* No other significant cardiac disease
* No uncontrolled infection
* No history of serious allergic reaction to eggs
* No pulmonary symptoms ≥ grade 2
* No symptomatic pulmonary disease requiring medication including the following:

  * Dyspnea on or off exertion
  * Paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea
  * Oxygen requirement
  * Significant pulmonary disease (e.g., chronic obstructive/restrictive pulmonary disease)
* No home oxygen need meeting the Medicare criteria
* No history of pulmonary toxicity after treatment with anthracyclines (e.g., doxorubicin hydrochloride, daunorubicin hydrochloride, mitoxantrone hydrochloride, bleomycin, or carmustine)
* Not pregnant or nursing
* Negative pregnancy test
* Fertile patients must use effective contraception
* No other malignancy within the past 5 years except adequately treated basal cell or squamous cell skin cancer or noninvasive carcinoma
* No active seizure disorder
* More than 4 weeks since prior and no concurrent immunotherapy
* More than 4 weeks since prior biologic therapy
* No concurrent routine or prophylactic colony-stimulating factors (e.g., filgrastim \[G-CSF\] or sargramostim \[GM-CSF\])
* More than 4 weeks since prior chemotherapy (6 weeks for mitomycin or nitrosoureas) and recovered
* No other concurrent chemotherapy
* See Disease Characteristics
* More than 4 weeks since prior and no concurrent radiotherapy
* More than 4 weeks since prior radiopharmaceuticals
* No prior radiotherapy to \> 25% of bone marrow
* No prior radiotherapy that potentially included the heart in the field (i.e., mantle) or chest
* More than 4 weeks since prior therapeutic surgery for the tumor
* More than 3 months since prior sublingual nitroglycerin
* No other concurrent investigational ancillary therapy
* Concurrent CYP3A4 inhibitors allowed
* No concurrent medications that prolong or may prolong QTc interval