Inclusion Criteria

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

- Histologically confirmed squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck

- Metastatic and/or locally recurrent disease

- No undifferentiated and nonkeratinizing carcinomas, including lymphoepitheliomas
of all locations, as well as tumors of the parotid gland

- WHO Type I squamous cell carcinoma of the nasopharynx are allowed

- Incurable with surgery or radiotherapy

- Measurable disease, defined as ≥ 1 target lesion ≥ 20 mm OR ≥ 10 mm on spiral CT scan

- If the only site of measurable disease is in a previously irradiated area, the
patient must have documented progressive disease by tomography or biopsy-proven
residual carcinoma

- No symptomatic brain metastases that are not stable, are not adequately controlled
with fixed-dose oral steroids, are potentially life-threatening, or have required
radiotherapy within the last 14 days

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

- ECOG performance status 0-2

- Predicted life expectancy ≥ 12 weeks

- Absolute neutrophil count ≥ 1,500/mm^3

- Platelet count ≥ 100,000/mm^3

- Bilirubin ≤ 1.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN)

- AST and/or ALT ≤ 2.5 times ULN

- Creatinine ≤ 1.5 times ULN

- Not pregnant or nursing

- Negative pregnancy test

- Fertile patients must practice effective contraceptive measures

- No other prior malignancy within the past 3 years except for adequately treated basal
cell or squamous cell skin cancer or in situ cervical cancer

- No active or uncontrolled infection or other serious illnesses or medical conditions

- No history of any psychiatric condition that might impair the patient's ability to
understand or to comply with the requirements of the study or to provide informed
consent

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

- See Disease Characteristics

- No more than two prior chemotherapy regimens for locally recurrent and/or metastatic
disease

- Prior induction chemotherapy or chemoradiotherapy with curative intent for local
disease allowed provided patient has received no more than two prior chemotherapy
regimens for recurrent disease

- Prior therapy must have been completed a minimum of 14 days prior to study AND
patient has recovered

- No prior molecular-directed therapies, such as tyrosine kinase inhibitors and/or
monoclonal antibodies

- At least 14 days must have elapsed between the end of radiotherapy and study
registration and recovered

- At least 14 days since prior surgery AND wound healing has occurred

- At least 7 days since prior herbal extracts and tinctures with CYP3A inhibitory
activity, including any of the following:

- Hydrastis canadensis (goldenseal)

- Uncaria tomentosa (cat's claw)

- Echinacea angustifolia roots

- Trifolium pratense (wild cherry)

- Matricaria chamomilla (chamomile)

- Glycyrrhiza glabra (licorice)

- Dillapiol

- Naringenin

- No other concurrent anticancer therapy or other investigational agents

- No concurrent administration of any of the following:

- Phenytoin

- Carbamazepine

- Rifampicin

- Barbiturates

- Hypericum perforatum (St. John's wort)

- CYP3A inhibitors (e.g., itraconazole)