Clofarabine in Treating Patients With T-Cell or Natural Killer-Cell Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma That Has Relapsed or Not Responded to Previous Treatment

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Histologically confirmed T-cell or natural killer (NK)-cell lymphoma, including any of the following subtypes:
• Blastic NK-cell lymphoma
• T/NK-cell lymphoma/leukemia
• Adult T-cell lymphoma/leukemia
• T-cell prolymphocytic leukemia
• T-lymphoblastic lymphoma
• Peripheral T-cell lymphoma, not otherwise specified
• Angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma
• Anaplastic large cell lymphoma
• Transformed mycosis fungoides
• Subcutaneous panniculitis-like T-cell lymphoma
• Nasal T/NK-cell lymphoma
• Enteropathy-type T-cell lymphoma
• Hepatosplenic gamma/delta T-cell lymphoma
• Relapsed or refractory disease, meeting both of the following criteria:
• Must have been treated with prior cytotoxic chemotherapy and/or monoclonal antibody therapy
• No standard curative treatment exists
• Allogeneic bone marrow transplantation is not considered standard curative treatment
• Evaluable disease (Phase I)
• Measurable disease, defined as any nodal site or mass lesion ≥ 1.5 cm in longest transverse diameter on physical exam or CT scan OR a measurable extranodal site > 1 cm (Phase II)
• Patients with evaluable blood- or marrow-based disease are eligible

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

• ECOG performance status 0-2
• Absolute neutrophil count ≥ 1, 500/mm³ (Phase I)
• Absolute neutrophil count ≥ 500/mm³ (Phase II)
• Platelet count ≥ 100,000/mm³ (Phase I)
• Platelet count ≥ 50,000/mm³ (Phase II)
• Creatinine < 2.0 mg/dL*
• Bilirubin ≤ 2.0 times upper limit of normal (ULN)*
• AST and ALT ≤ 2.5 times ULN*
• No active infection requiring antibiotics
• No New York Heart Association class III or IV congestive heart failure
• No known HIV positivity
• No other active malignancy requiring therapy
• No other serious or life-threatening condition deemed unacceptable by the principal investigator
• Not pregnant or nursing
• Negative pregnancy test
• Fertile patients must use effective contraception NOTE: *Unless due to lymphoma and patients are entering to the phase II portion of the study

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

• See Disease Characteristics
• At least 3 weeks since prior therapy, including any of the following:
• Interferon
• Antibody therapy
• Retinoids
• Other non-chemotherapeutic treatment
• Concurrent stable-dose corticosteroids allowed
• No colony-stimulating factor therapy during the first course of study therapy