Chemotherapy and Radiation Therapy (RT) With or Without Vandetanib in Treating Patients With High-Risk Stage III or Stage IV Head and Neck Cancer

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

* Histologically or cytologically confirmed squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck, including any of the following subtypes:

  * Oral cavity
  * Oropharynx
  * Larynx
  * Hypopharynx
* Stage III or IV disease (no distant metastases)
* No cancer of the lip, nasopharynx, or sinuses
* Must have undergone gross total resection\* (with curative intent) within 3-6 weeks of registration, with pathology demonstrating 1 or more of the following risk factors:

  * Histologic extracapsular nodal extension
  * Invasive cancer seen on microscopic evaluation of the resection margin, when all visible tumor has been removed NOTE: \*Tonsillar cancer patients who undergo transoral excision of all gross tumor are eligible if the patient has formal neck dissection confirming histologic extracapsular nodal extension

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Inclusion criteria:

* Zubrod performance status 0-1
* ANC (absolute neutrophil count) ≥ 2,000/mm³
* Platelet count ≥ 100,000/mm³
* Hemoglobin ≥ 8.0 g/dL (transfusion or other intervention to achieve this level allowed)
* Total bilirubin normal
* AST (aspartate aminotransferase) or ALT (alanine amino transferase) ≤ 2 times upper limit of normal (ULN)
* Alkaline phosphatase ≤ 2.5 times ULN
* Serum creatinine ≤ 1.5 mg/dL
* Creatinine clearance ≥ 60 mL/min
* Glucose ≥ 40 mg/dL AND ≤ 250 mg/dL
* Sodium ≥ 130 mmol/L AND ≤ 155 mmol/L
* Magnesium ≥ 0.9 mg/dL AND ≤ 3 mg/dL (supplementation allowed)
* Potassium ≥ 4 mmol/L AND ≤ 6 mmol/L (supplementation allowed)
* Serum calcium (ionized or adjusted for albumin) ≥ 7 mg/dL AND ≤ 12.5 mg/dL (supplementation allowed)
* QTc (corrected QT interval) interval ≥ 480 msec must have 2 additional EKGs ≥ 24 hrs apart and the average QTc from the 3 screening EKGs must be \< 480 msec
* Not pregnant or nursing
* Negative pregnancy test
* Fertile patients must use effective contraception during and for at least 60 days after completion of study treatment
* May not donate blood during the study or for 3 months after last dose of vandetanib

Exclusion criteria:

* Other simultaneous primary cancer
* Prior invasive malignancy (except nonmelanoma skin cancer) unless disease free for a minimum of 3 years with the exception of the following:

  * Carcinoma in situ of the cervix
  * Adequately treated basal cell or squamous cell carcinoma of the skin
  * Untreated or treated low-risk prostate cancer (defined as clinical or pathologic T1c, N0 M0, PSA (prostate-specific antigen) \< 10, Gleason \< 7, \< 50% of the total cores positive for cancer)
* Severe, active co-morbidity, defined as follows:

  * Clinically significant cardiovascular event (e.g., myocardial infarction, superior vena cava syndrome, or New York Heart Association class II-IV) or presence of cardiac disease that, in the opinion of the investigator, increases the risk of ventricular arrhythmia within the past 3 months
  * Unstable angina and/or congestive heart failure requiring hospitalization within the past 3 months
  * Transmural myocardial infarction within the past 3 months
  * History of arrhythmia (e.g., multifocal premature ventricular contractions, bigeminy, trigeminy, ventricular tachycardia, or uncontrolled atrial fibrillation) which is symptomatic or requires treatment (CTCAE \[Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events\] grade 3), or asymptomatic sustained ventricular tachycardia

    * Patients with atrial fibrillation, controlled on medication, are eligible
  * Presence of left bundle branch block
  * Previous history of QTc prolongation as a result from other medication that required discontinuation of that medication
  * Congenital long QTc syndrome or first degree relative with unexplained sudden death under 40 years of age
  * QTc with Bazett's correction that is unmeasurable or ≥ 480 msec on screening EKG

    * Patients who are receiving a drug that has a risk of QTc prolongation are not eligible if QTc is ≥ 460 msec
  * Hypertension (systolic blood pressure \[BP\] \> 160 mm Hg or diastolic BP \> 100 mm Hg) not controlled by medical therapy
  * Diarrhea ≥ grade 1 (increase of \< 4 stools per day over baseline or mild increase in ostomy output compared to baseline)
  * Acute bacterial or fungal infection requiring intravenous antibiotics at the time of registration
  * Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbation or other respiratory illness requiring hospitalization or precluding study therapy within the past 30 days
  * Hepatic insufficiency resulting in clinical jaundice and/or coagulation defects
  * Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) based upon current CDC (Center for Disease Control) definition (no HIV testing is required for study entry)
* Prior allergic reaction to cisplatin or vandetanib or derivatives similar to these drugs

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

* See Disease Characteristics
* No prior systemic chemotherapy for this disease (prior chemotherapy for a different cancer allowed)
* No prior radiotherapy to the head and neck area that would result in overlap of radiotherapy fields
* More than 30 days since prior investigational agents
* More than 3 weeks since prior major surgery and recovered
* More than 2 weeks since prior and no concurrent medications that induce Torsades de Pointes
* More than 2 weeks since prior and no concurrent known potent inducers of CYP3A4 (Cytochrome P450 3A4), including rifampicin, phenytoin, carbamazepine, barbiturates, and Hypericum perforatum (St. John wort)
* No concurrent medication that may cause QTc prolongation