Temsirolimus and Cixutumumab in Treating Patients With Locally Advanced, Metastatic, or Recurrent Soft Tissue Sarcoma or Bone Sarcoma

Inclusion Criteria:

* Patients must have histologically or cytologically confirmed sarcoma of soft tissue or bone; all patients will have IGF-1R testing at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) by immunohistochemistry (IHC); patients with confirmation of IGF-1R status in pre-existing tumor specimens will be enrolled on one of three arms of the study:

  * Arm A: IHC IGF-1R (+) sarcomas of soft tissue
  * Arm B: IHC IGF-1R (+) sarcomas of bone
  * Arm C: Any IGF-1R (-) sarcomas
* Subjects must have metastatic and/or locally advanced or locally recurrent disease
* Patients treated at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center must consent to tumor biopsies before therapy and after the 2nd week of therapy; subjects who do not have accessible tumor for biopsy may be enrolled at the discretion of the Principal Investigator
* Patients must have measurable disease by RECIST 1.1; measurable disease (a 'target' lesion) is defined as at least one lesion that can be accurately measured in at least one dimension (longest diameter to be recorded); each lesion must be \>= 10 mm when measured by computed tomography (CT) (CT scan slice thickness no greater than 5 mm); \>= 10 mm caliper measurement by clinical exam (lesions which cannot be accurately measured with calipers should be recorded as non-measurable); and \>= 20 mm by chest x-ray
* A minimum of 1 and a maximum of 4 prior systemic therapy regimens for recurrent/metastatic disease; the last dose of systemic therapy (include tyrosine kinase inhibitors) must have been given at least 4 weeks prior to initiation of therapy; patients receiving carmustine (BCNU) or mitomycin C must have received their last dose of such therapy at least 6 weeks prior to initiation of therapy
* Patients with brain metastasis that have been treated with definitive surgery or radiation and have been clinically stable for 3 months following the procedure with no neurological signs or symptoms and no requirement for systemic glucocorticoids are eligible for study
* Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status 0 or 1
* Absolute neutrophil count \>= 1.5 x 10\^9/l; patients with neutropenia on a familial basis may still be enrolled on study; please contact the Principal Investigator (PI) who will discuss the patient with Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program (CTEP)
* Platelets \>= 100 x 10\^9/l
* Total bilirubin =\< 1.5 x upper limit of normal (ULN); in patients with bilirubin \> 1-1.5 X ULN, the starting dose of temsirolimus is 15 mg/week
* Albumin \>= 3 g/dL
* Aspartate aminotransferase (AST)/serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (SGOT)/alanine aminotransferase (ALT)/serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase (SGPT) =\< 3.0 x institution ULN; in patients with ALT or AST elevated \> 1.0- 3.0 X ULN, the starting dose of temsirolimus is 15 mg/week
* Serum creatinine =\< 1.5 x ULN
* Serum glucose =\< 120 mg/dL; nonfasting or fasting; if a patient has a non-fasting glucose of over 120 mg/dL, the patient may be retested in the fasting state to determine if they are eligible for study; a non-fasting glucose of 120 or less renders the patient eligible for study
* Fasting total cholesterol =\< 300 mg/dL
* Fasting triglycerides =\< 300 mg/dL; patients with neutropenia on a familial basis may still be enrolled on study; please contact the PI who will discuss the patient with CTEP
* Patients must not have current evidence of another malignancy
* Women of child-bearing potential and men must agree to use adequate contraception (hormonal or barrier method of birth control; abstinence) and have pregnancy testing prior to study entry and for the duration of study participation (every 2 cycles of therapy); should a woman become pregnant or suspect she is pregnant while participating in this study, she should inform her treating physician immediately
* Adverse events related to prior tumor-specific therapy must have resolved to less than or equal to National Cancer Institute (NCI) Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) (version 4.0) grade 1 prior to study entry (except alopecia)
* Ability to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent document

Exclusion Criteria:

* Patients who have had major surgery or a course of glucocorticoid therapy lasting longer than 5 days within 4 weeks prior to entering the study, or those who have not recovered from adverse events to =\< NCI CTCAE (version 4.0) grade 1, associated with surgery; excluded from such considerations are surgical changes not expected to improve, e.g. removal of muscle tissue; patients may be on replacement glucocorticoids for pre-existing glucocorticoid deficiency (e.g. Addison's disease) or topical glucocorticoids for dermatological conditions (e.g. psoriasis)
* Patients must be \>= 4 weeks beyond treatment of any systemic therapy, other investigational therapy, biological, targeted agents or radiotherapy, and must have recovered to =\< Grade 1 toxicity or previous baseline for each toxicity; specifically excluded are the laboratory examinations serum lipase or amylase (without overt pancreatitis), hypophosphatemia, hypomagnesemia, and lymphopenia; patients may have received palliative low dose radiotherapy to the limbs 1-4 weeks before this therapy provided pelvis, sternum, scapulae, vertebrae, or skull were not included in the radiotherapy field
* Patients may not have received prior IGFR1 inhibitors
* Patients may not have received prior mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitors (such as sirolimus, everolimus, ridaforolimus, or temsirolimus)
* History of allergic reactions attributed to compounds of similar chemical or biologic composition to temsirolimus, A12, or other agents used in the study
* Patients with hyperglycemia, defined as fasting serum glucose above 120 mg/dl, or those patients already on oral anti-diabetic or insulin therapy
* Uncontrolled intercurrent illness including, but not limited to, known ongoing or active infection, including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), active hepatitis B or C, symptomatic congestive heart failure, unstable angina pectoris, cardiac arrhythmia (specifically, atrial fibrillation or ventricular dysrhythmias except ventricular premature contractions), or psychiatric illness/social situations that would limit compliance with study requirements
* Pregnant women and women who are breast-feeding