Bortezomib, Rituximab, Cyclophosphamide, and Prednisone in Treating Patients With Relapsed or Refractory Indolent Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

* Histologically confirmed diagnosis of 1 of the following:

  * Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)
  * B-cell small lymphocytic leukemia (SLL)
  * Any marginal zone lymphoma
  * Grade 1-3A follicular lymphoma
  * Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia
  * Mantle cell lymphoma
* No transformed indolent lymphoma
* Assessable disease (phase I)
* Measurable disease (phase I and II), defined as ≥ one lesion that can be accurately measured in ≥ 1 dimension as ≥ 2 cm by conventional techniques OR ≥ 1 cm by spiral CT scan

  * Lymph nodes measuring ≤ 1 cm in the short axis are considered normal
* Relapsed or refractory disease

  * Must have received at least 1 prior therapeutic regimen but no more than 3 prior conventional cytotoxic therapy regimens
* No known brain metastases or meningeal disease

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

* Karnofsky performance status \> 50%
* Absolute neutrophil count \> 1,000/mcl (more than 500/mcl if known lymphomatous involvement)
* Platelet count ≥ 50,000/mcl
* Total bilirubin \< 1.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN) (less than 5 mg/dL if known history of Gilbert's disease)
* AST and ALT ≤ 2.5 times ULN (4 times ULN if liver involvement)
* Creatinine \< 1.5 times ULN OR creatinine clearance \> 50 mL/min
* Patients may have febrile episodes up to 38.5ºC without evidence of active infection
* Not pregnant or nursing
* Negative pregnancy test
* Fertile patients must use effective contraception
* No New York Heart Association class III or IV congestive heart failure
* No uncontrolled intercurrent illness, including any of the following:

  * Ongoing or active infection
  * Cerebrovascular accident or transient ischemic attack within 6 months of study entry
  * Unstable angina pectoris
  * Cardiac arrhythmia
  * EKG evidence of acute ischemia
  * Psychiatric illness/social situations that would limit compliance with study requirements
* No uncontrolled hypertension requiring active manipulation of antihypertensive medications
* No known or active HIV infection
* No history of hypersensitivity to bortezomib, boron, or mannitol
* No peripheral neuropathy \> grade 2
* No other malignancy within the past 5 years except curatively treated non life-threatening malignancies, such as cutaneous basal cell or squamous cell carcinoma or carcinoma in situ of the cervix

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

* See Disease Characteristics
* Recovered from prior therapy
* Prior stem cell transplantation allowed

  * Preparative cytoreductive and high-dose therapies considered 1 prior therapy
* At least 4 weeks since prior cytotoxic chemotherapy (6 weeks since prior nitrosoureas or mitomycin C)
* At least 12 weeks since prior radioimmunotherapy

  * One prior course comprising tositumomab or ibritumomab tiuxetan allowed
* At least 1 week since prior palliative steroids for NHL
* No therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (e.g., rituximab, tositumomab, ibritumomab, alemtuzumab, etc.) within 3 months of study entry

  * Patients treated with monoclonal antibodies within 3 months allowed provided disease progressed on this therapy AND no treatment received 7 days prior to study entry
  * Seven days since prior rituximab (for patients enrolled in phase I portion)
* No major surgery within 4 weeks of study entry
* No other concurrent investigational agents
* No other concurrent anticancer therapy