Docetaxel With or Without Vandetanib in Treating Patients With Metastatic Stomach Cancer or Gastroesophageal Junction Cancer

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

* Histologically confirmed gastric adenocarcinoma or gastroesophageal junction cancer

  * Metastatic disease
* Measurable disease
* No symptomatic CNS metastases

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Inclusion criteria:

* ECOG performance status 0-1
* Life expectancy ≥ 3 months
* ANC ≥ 1,500/µL
* Platelet count ≥ 100,000/µL
* Bilirubin ≤ 1.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN)
* Creatinine \< 1.5 times ULN OR creatinine clearance ≥ 50 mL/min
* Potassium ≥ 4.0 mEq/L (supplementation allowed) and ≤ the CTCAE grade 1 upper limit
* Magnesium normal (supplementation allowed) and ≤ the CTCAE grade 1 upper limit
* Calcium normal and corrected serum calcium ≤ the CTCAE grade 1 upper limit

  * In cases where the serum calcium is below the normal range, calcium (adjusted for albumin) normal OR ionized calcium normal
* ALT and AST ≤ 2.5 times ULN
* Alkaline phosphatase ≤ 2.5 times ULN
* Not pregnant or nursing
* Negative pregnancy test
* Fertile patients must use effective contraception during and for up to 12 weeks after completion of study therapy
* Atrial fibrillation allowed if controlled by medication
* LVEF ≥ 45% by MUGA or ECHO

Exclusion criteria:

* Evidence of severe or uncontrolled systemic disease
* Any concurrent condition which makes it undesirable for the patient to participate in the trial or which would jeopardize study compliance, in the Investigator's opinion
* Uncontrolled infection
* Coagulopathy (including warfarin or anti-coagulant related) or bleeding disorder
* Peripheral neuropathy ≥ grade 2
* Clinically significant cardiac event, including myocardial infarction or New York Heart Association class II-IV heart disease within the past 3 months
* Presence of cardiac disease that, in the opinion of the Investigator, increases the risk of ventricular arrhythmia
* History of arrhythmia (i.e., multifocal premature ventricular contractions, bigeminy, trigeminy, ventricular tachycardia, or uncontrolled atrial fibrillation) which is symptomatic or requires treatment (CTCAE grade 3) OR asymptomatic sustained ventricular tachycardia
* History of QTc prolongation as a result of other medication that required discontinuation of that medication
* Congenital long QT syndrome or a first degree relative with unexplained sudden death under 40 years of age
* Presence of left bundle branch block
* QTc with Bazett's correction that is unmeasurable or ≥ 480 msec on screening ECG

  * If a patient has QTc ≥ 480 msec on screening ECG, the screen ECG may be repeated twice (at least 24 hours apart)
  * The average OTc from the three screening ECGs must be \< 480 msec in order for the patient to be eligible for the study
* Hypertension not controlled by medical therapy (systolic blood pressure \[BP\] \> 160 mm Hg or diastolic BP \> 100 mm Hg)
* Currently active diarrhea (≥ grade 2) that may affect the ability of the patient to absorb vandetanib
* Previous or current malignancies of other histologies within the past 5 years, with the exception of cervical carcinoma in situ and adequately treated basal cell or squamous cell carcinoma of the skin

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

* Recovered from all prior therapy
* At least 4 weeks since prior chemotherapy or radiotherapy
* No more than one prior chemotherapy regimen for metastatic disease

  * Prior adjuvant therapy, including chemoradiotherapy, allowed
* At least 2 weeks since prior palliative radiotherapy

  * Up to 3750 cGy palliative radiotherapy to the stomach allowed
* No prior therapy with docetaxel
* More than 30 days since prior investigational agents
* More than 4 weeks since prior and no concurrent or planned participation in another experimental drug study
* More than 4 weeks since prior major surgery and recovered
* More than 2 weeks since prior and no concurrent medication that may cause QTc prolongation or induce Torsades de Pointes
* No concurrent amiodarone
* No concurrent potent inducers of CYP3A4 function (e.g., rifampicin, rifabutin, phenytoin, carbamazepine, barbiturates, or Hypericum perforatum \[St. John wort\])
* No prior enrollment or randomization to treatment in the present study