Cetuximab and/or Dasatinib in Patients With Colorectal Cancer and Liver Metastases That Can Be Removed by Surgery

Inclusion Criteria:

* Patients must have histologically confirmed adenocarcinoma arising from the large intestine that has metastasized to the liver; liver metastases may be synchronous or metachronous
* The liver metastases must be considered surgically resectable prior to the initiation of study drugs
* Prior chemotherapy or chemoradiotherapy for colorectal cancer is allowed provided that toxicities from prior therapy have resolved to Grade 1 or less; no prior anti-EGFR or anti-Src therapy is allowed
* Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status =\< 1 (Karnofsky \>= 70%)
* Absolute neutrophil count \>= 1.5 x 10\^9/L
* Hemoglobin ≥ 9.0 Gm/dL
* Platelets \>= 100 x 10\^9/L
* Total bilirubin ≤ 1.5 x institutional upper limit of normal (IULN)
* Aspartate aminotransferase (AST)(serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase \[SGOT\])/alanine transaminase (ALT)(serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase \[SGPT\]) =\< 5 x institutional upper limit of normal
* Creatinine =\< 1.5 institutional ULN
* Women must have a negative pregnancy test; women of child-bearing potential and men must agree to use adequate contraception (hormonal or barrier method of birth control; abstinence) prior to study entry and for the duration of study participation; should a woman become pregnant or suspect she is pregnant while participating in this study, she should inform her treating physician immediately
* Ability to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent document
* Although KRAS status will be evaluated in the tumor, wild type KRAS status is not an eligibility criterion

Exclusion Criteria:

* Patients who have had chemotherapy or radiotherapy within 4 weeks (6 weeks for nitrosoureas or mitomycin C) prior to entering the study or those who have not recovered from adverse events due to agents administered more than 4 weeks earlier
* Patients receiving any other investigational agents
* History of allergic reactions attributed to compounds of similar chemical or biologic composition to cetuximab or dasatinib
* Uncontrolled intercurrent illness including, but not limited to ongoing or active infection, symptomatic congestive heart failure, unstable angina pectoris, cardiac arrhythmia, or psychiatric illness/social situations that would limit compliance with study requirements
* Pregnant women are excluded from this study because of the potential for teratogenic or abortifacient effects; because there is an unknown but potential risk for adverse events in nursing infants secondary to treatment of the mother with cetuximab or dasatinib, breastfeeding should be discontinued if the mother is treated with cetuximab or dasatinib
* Patients with immune deficiency are at increased risk of lethal infections when treated with marrow-suppressive therapy; therefore, HIV-positive patients receiving combination anti-retroviral therapy are excluded from the study because of possible pharmacokinetic interactions with cetuximab or dasatinib; appropriate studies will be undertaken in patients receiving combination anti-retroviral therapy when indicated
* Patients on potent CYP3A4 inducers and inhibitors