Inclusion Criteria

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

- Histologically confirmed malignancy, including, but not limited to, renal cell
carcinoma, melanoma, Kaposi's sarcoma, breast carcinoma, lymphoma, myeloma, or tumors
of endothelial origin

- Stage IV disease

- Refractory to standard therapy

- Measurable or evaluable disease

- Evaluable disease can include clinically or radiographically nonmeasurable tumor
or specific tumor markers

- Patients with prior solitary CNS metastasis allowed

- Must have had prior definitive therapy ≥ 3 months previously

- No requirement for glucocorticoids unless for physiologic replacement

- No multiple CNS metastases

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

- ECOG performance status 0-1

- Granulocyte count ≥ 1,500/mm³

- Platelet count ≥ 100,000/mm³

- Creatinine ≤ 1.3 times upper limit of normal (ULN) OR

- Creatinine clearance of 60 mL/min

- Bilirubin ≤ 1.3 times ULN

- AST ≤ 5 times ULN

- No pregnant or lactating women

- Fertile women and men, unless surgically sterile, must use effective contraception

- No history of serious cardiac arrhythmia or cardiac arrhythmia requiring treatment

- No congestive heart failure

- No angina pectoris

- No New York Heart Association class III or IV disease

- No other severe cardiovascular disease

- No known seizure disorder

- No known HIV or hepatitis B surface antigen positivity

- No active clinical infection requiring antibiotics within the past 7 days

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

- See Disease Characteristics

- At least 4 months since prior interferon therapy and/or ≤ 400 million units of
interferon

- At least 3 weeks since prior major surgery requiring general anesthesia

- At least 3 weeks since prior radiotherapy or chemotherapy

- Treatment with hormones or other chemotherapeutic agents may not be administered
except for steroids given for preexisting adrenal failure or hormones administered
for nondisease-related conditions (e.g., insulin for diabetes)

- No prior organ allograft

- No concurrent dexamethasone, other steroidal antiemetics, or anti-inflammatories

- No concurrent palliative radiotherapy