AZD2171 in Treating Patients With Refractory Metastatic Kidney Cancer

Inclusion Criteria:

* Histologically or cytologically confirmed clear cell renal cell cancer

  * Must be predominantly metastatic disease
  * Refractory disease
* Measurable disease, defined as ≥ 1 unidimensionally measurable lesion ≥ 20 mmby conventional techniques or ≥ 10 mm by spiral CT scan
* No known brain metastases
* ECOG performance status 0-2
* Karnofsky 60-100%
* WBC ≥ 3,000/mm\^3
* Absolute neutrophil count ≥ 1,500/mm\^3
* Platelet count ≥ 100,000/mm\^3
* Hemoglobin ≥ 8.0 g/dL
* AST and ALT ≤ 2.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN)
* Bilirubin normal
* Creatinine normal OR creatinine clearance \> 60 mL/min
* Blood pressure \< 140/90 mm Hg on 2 separate occasions not more than 6 weeks prior to enrollment and not less than 24 hours apart (stable antihypertensive regimen allowed)
* Mean QTc ≤ 470 msec (with Bazett's correction)
* Less than +1 proteinuria on two consecutive dipsticks taken no less than 1 week apart
* Not pregnant or nursing
* Negative pregnancy test
* Fertile patients must use effective contraception
* No history of familial long QT syndrome
* No cardiac arrhythmia
* No unstable angina pectoris
* No symptomatic congestive heart failure
* No New York Heart Association class III or IV disease
* No ongoing or active infection
* No hypertension
* No other uncontrolled intercurrent illness
* No history of allergic reactions attributed to compounds of similar chemical or biologic composition to AZD2171
* No psychiatric illness or social situations that would limit compliance with study requirements
* See Disease Characteristics
* More than 4 weeks since prior radiotherapy and recovered
* More than 4 weeks since prior major surgery and recovered
* More than 4 weeks since prior chemotherapy (6 weeks for nitrosoureas or mitomycin C) and recovered
* More than 30 days since other prior investigational agents
* No prior therapy with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) binding agents or VEGF receptor (VEGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitors
* No more than 1 prior nonVEGF-directed systemic therapy for this disease
* No concurrent medication that may markedly affect renal function (e.g., vancomycin, amphotericin, ibuprofen, pentamidine)
* No combination antiretroviral therapy for HIV-positive patients
* No concurrent hematopoietic growth factors except epoetin alfa and bisphosphonates
* No concurrent hormones or other chemotherapeutic agents except for steroids given for adrenal failure and hormones administered for nondisease-related conditions (e.g. insulin for diabetes)
* No concurrent palliative or therapeutic radiation therapy
* No concurrent drugs or biologics with proarrhythmic potential
* No other concurrent investigational or commercial agents or therapies to treat the patient's malignancy