Sunitinib Before and After Surgery in Treating Patients With Metastatic Kidney Cancer That Can Be Removed By Surgery

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

* Diagnosis of clear cell renal cell carcinoma

  * Metastatic disease
  * Primary tumor is considered amenable to surgery
* Measurable disease, defined as ≥ 1 lesion that can be accurately measured in ≥ 1 dimension (longest diameter to be recorded) as \> 20 mm by conventional techniques or as \> 10 mm by spiral CT scan
* No untreated brain metastases

  * Treated brain metastases allowed provided lesion has been stable on two consecutive CT or MRI scans separated by ≥ 2 months

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

* ECOG performance status 0-2
* Leukocytes ≥ 3,000/μL
* ANC ≥ 1,500/μL
* Platelet count ≥ 75,000/μL
* Hemoglobin ≥ 8.5 g/dL
* Total Bilirubin ≤ 2 times upper limits of normal (ULN)
* AST and ALT ≤ 2.5 times ULN
* Creatinine ≤ 2.5 times ULN
* Not pregnant or nursing
* Negative pregnancy test
* Fertile patients must use effective contraception
* Able to undergo nephrectomy and treatment with sunitinib malate
* No history of allergic reactions attributed to compounds of similar chemical or biological composition to sunitinib malate
* No uncontrolled intercurrent illness including, but not limited to, any of the following:

  * Ongoing or active infection
  * Symptomatic congestive heart failure
  * Unstable angina pectoris
  * Cardiac arrhythmia
  * Psychiatric illness/social situations that would limit compliance with study requirements

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

* No prior systemic treatment with sunitinib malate
* No other concurrent investigational agents
* No concurrent combination antiretroviral therapy for HIV-positive patients
* Concurrent medications or substances known to affect, or with the potential to affect, the activity or pharmacokinetics of sunitinib malate allowed at the discretion of the principal investigator