Vorinostat With or Without Bortezomib in Treating Patients With Refractory or Recurrent Stage IIB, Stage III, or Stage IV Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

* Histologically confirmed advanced cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL), including its variants mycosis fungoides and Sézary syndrome

  * Stage IIB-IV disease
* Relapsed or refractory disease, including any of the following:

  * Patients with clinical progression following EORTC-21081 protocol treatment
  * Intolerant to ≥ 1 prior intravenous chemotherapy, including denileukin diftitox, antibodies or antibody conjugates, or any other systemic therapy
* No CNS involvement

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

* WHO performance status 0-2
* Absolute neutrophil count \> 1.5 x 10\^9/L\*
* Platelet count \> 100 x 10\^9/L\*
* Hemoglobin \> 9 g/dL\*
* WBC \> 3 x 10\^9/L\*
* Bilirubin ≤ 1.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN)\*
* AST and ALT ≤ 3 times ULN (in case of liver infiltration ≤ 5 x ULN)\*
* Serum creatinine ≤ 2.0 mg/dL\*
* Calculated creatinine clearance ≥ 60 mL/min
* Electrolytes (including potassium and magnesium) ≤ 1 times ULN\*
* Not pregnant or nursing prior to the first dose of study treatment and until 4 weeks after the last study treatment
* Negative pregnancy test
* Fertile patients must use effective contraception during and for 3 months after completion of study therapy
* Able to swallow capsules and is able to take or tolerate oral medication on a continuous basis
* No New York Heart Association class III-IV disease
* None of the following known conditions:

  * Infectious disease
  * Autoimmune disease
  * Immunodeficiency
* No known or active HIV and/or hepatitis A, B, or C infection
* No NCI CTC grade 1 peripheral sensory neuropathy with pain or peripheral sensory or motor neuropathy ≥ grade II
* No other malignancy within the past 5 years
* No psychological, familial, sociological, or geographical condition potentially hampering compliance with the study protocol and follow-up schedule NOTE: \*Patients with a buffer range from the normal values of +/- 5% for hematology and +/- 10% for biochemistry are acceptable, except for renal function.

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

* See Disease Characteristics
* Must have completely recovered from previous treatment toxicity
* No prior splenectomy or splenic irradiation
* No prior bortezomib and/or histone deacetylase inhibitors (including vorinostat \[SAHA\])
* More than 4 weeks since prior chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiotherapy, or surgery

  * In case of clear progression during previous treatment, 2 weeks of wash-out is enough
* No concurrent chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiotherapy, or surgery (except biopsies)
* No concurrent steroid (prednisone or equivalent) dose \> 20 mg/day

  * Prednisone ≤ 20 mg/day for treatment of disorders other than CTCL allowed
* No concomitant use of other histone deacetylase inhibitors (e.g., valproic acid)