PXD101 in Treating Patients With Relapsed or Refractory Aggressive B-Cell Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma

Inclusion Criteria

• Biopsy-proven (no needle aspirations or cytologies) aggressive B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), including 1 of the following histology subtypes:
• Diffuse large cell NHL
• Burkitt's or Burkitt-like NHL
• Primary mediastinal NHL
• Relapsed or refractory disease
• Bidimensionally measurable disease
• Transformed NHL allowed
• Not eligible for stem cell transplantation (for patients registered to study at first relapse)
• No active CNS involvement by lymphoma
• Zubrod performance status 0-2
• No history of allergic reactions attributed to compounds of similar chemical or biologic composition to PXD101
• Absolute neutrophil count >= 1,500/mm^3
• Platelet count>=100,000/mm^3
• WBC >= 3,000/mm^3
• Creatinine = 60 mL/min
• No significant EKG abnormalities
• Bilirubin normal
• SGOT/SGPT 500 msec)
• No other significant cardiovascular disease, including any of the following:
• Unstable angina pectoris
• Uncontrolled hypertension
• Congestive heart failure related to primary cardiac disease
• Any condition requiring anti-arrhythmic therapy
• Ischemic or severe valvular heart disease
• Myocardial infarction within the past 6 months
• No major surgery within 28 days prior to study entry
• No concurrent combination antiretroviral therapy for HIV-positive patients
• No concurrent medication that may cause Torsades de Pointes (i.e., prolongation of the QT interval > 500 msec)
• At least 14 days since prior radiotherapy
• At least 2 weeks since prior valproic acid or any other histone deacetylase inhibitor
• No clinical evidence of any of the following:
• Severe peripheral vascular disease
• Diabetic ulcers or venous stasis ulcers
• History of deep venous or arterial thrombosis within the past 3 months
• Radioimmunotherapy is considered a chemotherapy regimen
• Single-agent rituximab is not considered a chemotherapy regimen
• Standard salvage chemotherapy followed by autologous stem cell transplantation is considered 1 regimen
• No known AIDS or HIV-associated complex
• Not pregnant or nursing
• 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 in situ carcinoma of the cervix
• At least 2 weeks since prior therapy and recovered
• No more than 5 prior chemotherapy regimens