Sorafenib and Isolated Limb Infusion of Melphalan in Treating Patients With Stage III Melanoma of the Arm or Leg

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

* Histologically confirmed primary or recurrent extremity melanoma

  * Stage IIIB or IIIC disease

    * Patients with stage IIIC disease must have had regional lymph nodes previously removed
* Disease to be treated by regional therapy must be distal to the planned site of tourniquet placement
* Bidimensionally measurable disease by caliper or radiological method

  * Must have identifiable target lesions for disease assessment

    * Patients with a single lesion must have archived tumor tissue available for research analysis
* No stage IV disease
* No known brain metastasis

  * Patients with neurological symptoms must have undergone a CT scan or MRI of the brain within the past 4 weeks to exclude brain metastasis

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

* ECOG or Zubrod performance status 0-1
* Life expectancy \> 6 months
* Hemoglobin ≥ 9.0 g/dL
* WBC ≥ 3,000/mm\^3
* ANC ≥ 1,500/mm\^3
* Platelet count ≥ 100,000/mm\^3
* Total bilirubin ≤ 1.5 x upper limit of normal (ULN)
* ALT and AST ≤ 2.5 x ULN
* INR \< 1.5 or PT/PTT normal
* Creatinine ≤ 1.5 x ULN
* Not pregnant or nursing
* Negative serum pregnancy test
* Fertile patients must use effective contraception
* Must have a palpable femoral or axillary pulse in the extremity to be treated
* No cardiac disease, including any of the following:

  * NYHA class III or IV congestive heart failure
  * Unstable angina (i.e., angina symptoms at rest) or new onset angina within the past 3 months
  * Myocardial infarction within the past 6 months
* No cardiac ventricular arrhythmias requiring antiarrhythmic therapy
* No uncontrolled hypertension, defined as systolic blood pressure (BP) \> 150 mm Hg or diastolic BP \> 90 mm Hg, despite optimal medical management
* No known HIV infection
* No chronic hepatitis B or C
* No active clinically serious infection \> CTCAE grade 2
* No thrombotic or embolic events (e.g., cerebrovascular accident or transient ischemic attacks) within the past 6 months
* No signs or symptoms of vascular insufficiency (i.e., any history of blood clots or other ischemic peripheral vascular disease)
* No evidence or history of bleeding diathesis or coagulopathy
* No pulmonary hemorrhage or bleeding event ≥ CTCAE grade 2 within the past 4 weeks
* No other hemorrhage or bleeding event ≥ CTCAE grade 3 within the past 4 weeks
* No serious nonhealing wound, ulcer, or bone fracture
* No significant traumatic injury within the past 4 weeks
* No condition that impairs the patient's ability to swallow whole pills
* No malabsorption problem
* No known history of allergic reactions and/or hypersensitivity to melphalan, sorafenib tosylate, or any other agent used in the study
* No psychiatric condition or diminished capacity that would compromise giving informed consent, or interfere with study compliance
* No history of other malignancies, except for any of the following:

  * Adequately treated basal cell or squamous cell carcinoma of the skin
  * Curatively treated in situ carcinoma of the uterine cervix, prostate cancer, or superficial bladder cancer
  * Other curatively treated solid tumor with no evidence of disease for ≥ 5 years

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

* Recovered from prior therapy
* No prior sorafenib tosylate
* Prior melphalan via isolated limb infusion allowed
* No antineoplastic therapy, radiotherapy, or any other investigational drug within the past 4 weeks
* No major surgery or open biopsy within the past 4 weeks
* No concurrent Hypericum perforatum (St. John wort) or rifampin
* Concurrent anti-coagulation treatment with warfarin or heparin allowed