Tanespimycin in Treating Patients With Inoperable Locoregionally Advanced or Metastatic Thyroid Cancer

Inclusion Criteria

• Diagnosis of thyroid carcinoma of 1 of the following types:
• Medullary
• Differentiated
• Iodine I 131-resistant disease, defined as failure to incorporate and/or progression of measurable disease after treatment with iodine I 131
• Inoperable locoregionally advanced or metastatic disease
• Measurable disease, defined as ≥ 1 lesion ≥ 2.0 cm by conventional techniques OR ≥ 1.0 cm by spiral CT scan
• No active CNS metastases
• Performance status - ECOG 0-2
• Absolute neutrophil count ≥ 1,500/mm^3
• Platelet count ≥ 100,000/mm^3
• Hemoglobin ≥ 9.0 g/dL
• Bilirubin ≤ normal
• Alkaline phosphatase ≤ 2.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN)
• AST ≤ 1.5 times ULN
• Creatinine ≤ 1.5 times ULN
• QTc 40% by MUGA
• DLCO ≥ 80%
• No cardiac symptoms ≥ grade 2
• No active ischemic heart disease within the past year
• No congenital long QT syndrome
• No left bundle branch block
• No history of serious ventricular arrhythmia (i.e., ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation ≥ 3 beats in a row)
• No myocardial infarction within the past year
• No New York Heart Association class III or IV congestive heart failure
• No poorly controlled angina
• No history of angina (of any sort) within the past 6 months
• No history of uncontrolled dysrhythmias or requiring antiarrhythmic drugs
• No history of cardiac toxicity after treatment with anthracyclines (e.g., doxorubicin hydrochloride, daunorubicin hydrochloride, mitoxantrone hydrochloride, bleomycin, or carmustine)
• No other significant cardiac disease
• No uncontrolled infection
• No history of serious allergic reaction to eggs
• No pulmonary symptoms ≥ grade 2
• No symptomatic pulmonary disease requiring medication including the following:
• Dyspnea on or off exertion
• Paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea
• Oxygen requirement
• Significant pulmonary disease (e.g., chronic obstructive/restrictive pulmonary disease)
• No home oxygen need meeting the Medicare criteria
• No history of pulmonary toxicity after treatment with anthracyclines (e.g., doxorubicin hydrochloride, daunorubicin hydrochloride, mitoxantrone hydrochloride, bleomycin, or carmustine)
• Not pregnant or nursing
• Negative pregnancy test
• Fertile patients must use effective contraception
• No other malignancy within the past 5 years except adequately treated basal cell or squamous cell skin cancer or noninvasive carcinoma
• No active seizure disorder
• More than 4 weeks since prior and no concurrent immunotherapy
• More than 4 weeks since prior biologic therapy
• No concurrent routine or prophylactic colony-stimulating factors (e.g., filgrastim [G-CSF] or sargramostim [GM-CSF])
• More than 4 weeks since prior chemotherapy (6 weeks for mitomycin or nitrosoureas) and recovered
• No other concurrent chemotherapy
• See Disease Characteristics
• More than 4 weeks since prior and no concurrent radiotherapy
• More than 4 weeks since prior radiopharmaceuticals
• No prior radiotherapy to > 25% of bone marrow
• No prior radiotherapy that potentially included the heart in the field (i.e., mantle) or chest
• More than 4 weeks since prior therapeutic surgery for the tumor
• More than 3 months since prior sublingual nitroglycerin
• No other concurrent investigational ancillary therapy
• Concurrent CYP3A4 inhibitors allowed
• No concurrent medications that prolong or may prolong QTc interval