Inclusion Criteria

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

- Histologically or cytologically confirmed solid tumor that is unresponsive to
currently available therapies or for which no known effective treatment exists

- Measurable or evaluable disease

- Must have clinical or radiological evidence of disease

- Disease must be accessible to biopsy and imaging studies

- No known brain metastases

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Age

- 18 and over

Performance status

- ECOG 0-2

Life expectancy

- At least 3 months

Hematopoietic

- Absolute neutrophil count at least 2,000/mm^3

- Platelet count at least 100,000/mm^3

- No prior bleeding disorder

Hepatic

- Bilirubin no greater than 1.2 mg/dL

- ALT and AST no greater than 2.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN)

- PT/PTT no greater than ULN

Renal

- Creatinine less than 1.5 mg/dL OR

- Creatinine clearance at least 60 mL/min

Cardiovascular

- No symptomatic congestive heart failure

- No unstable angina pectoris

- No cardiac arrhythmia

Other

- Not pregnant or nursing

- Negative pregnancy test

- Fertile patients must use effective contraception during and for 6 months after study

- Willing to be premedicated for delayed contrast-enhanced MRI

- No prior claustrophobia

- No dementia or altered mental status that would preclude informed consent

- No other uncontrolled concurrent illness

- No ongoing or active infection

- No psychiatric illness or social situations that would preclude study compliance

- No immunodeficiency

- HIV negative

- Must be willing to receive blood products

- No thyroid disease

- Thyroxine and thyroid-stimulating hormone no greater than ULN

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

Biologic therapy

- At least 4 weeks since prior immunotherapy

Chemotherapy

- At least 4 weeks since prior chemotherapy (6 weeks for nitrosoureas or mitomycin) and
recovered

- Prior taxanes allowed

- No concurrent chemotherapy

Endocrine therapy

- No concurrent hormonal therapy except:

- Concurrent hormonal replacement therapy

- Concurrent medication for maintaining castrate status in patients with progressive
hormone refractory prostate cancer

Radiotherapy

- At least 4 weeks since prior radiotherapy and recovered

- No prior radiotherapy to more than 25% of the bone marrow

- No concurrent radiotherapy

Surgery

- More than 4 weeks since prior surgery

Other

- No other concurrent investigational or commercial agents or therapies for the
malignancy

- No other concurrent antitumor therapy