Inclusion Criteria

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

- Histologically confirmed medullary thyroid cancer

- Metastatic or inoperable locoregional disease

- Measurable disease by CT scan

- Patients with elevated calcitonin levels as the only measurement of disease are
not eligible

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Age

- 18 and over

Performance status

- ECOG 0-1

Life expectancy

- Not specified

Hematopoietic

- Granulocyte count > 1,000/mm^3

- Platelet count > 100,000/mm^3

Hepatic

- Bilirubin < 1.5 mg/dL

- ALT and AST < 2.5 times upper limit of normal

- No unstable or uncompensated hepatic disease

Renal

- Creatinine clearance > 60 mL/min

- No unstable or uncompensated renal disease

Cardiovascular

- No unstable or uncompensated cardiovascular disease

Pulmonary

- No unstable or uncompensated respiratory disease

Other

- Not pregnant or nursing

- Negative pregnancy test

- No diarrhea ≥ grade 2 (antidiarrheals allowed)

- No other severe or uncontrolled systemic disease

- No other malignancy within the past 5 years except squamous cell or basal cell skin
cancer or cervical cancer

- No other illness that would preclude study participation

- No other significant clinical disorder or laboratory finding that would preclude
study participation

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

Biologic therapy

- More than 3 months since prior biologic therapy

Chemotherapy

- More than 3 months since prior chemotherapy

Endocrine therapy

- Not specified

Radiotherapy

- No prior radiotherapy to > 25% of bone marrow

- More than 3 months since prior radiotherapy

Surgery

- Recovered from prior oncologic or other major surgery

Other

- More than 30 days since prior non-approved or investigational drugs