Inclusion Criteria:

- Histologically or cytologically confirmed clear cell renal cell cancer

- Must be predominantly metastatic disease

- Refractory disease

- Measurable disease, defined as ≥ 1 unidimensionally measurable lesion ≥ 20 mmby
conventional techniques or ≥ 10 mm by spiral CT scan

- No known brain metastases

- ECOG performance status 0-2

- Karnofsky 60-100%

- WBC ≥ 3,000/mm^3

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

- Platelet count ≥ 100,000/mm^3

- Hemoglobin ≥ 8.0 g/dL

- AST and ALT ≤ 2.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN)

- Bilirubin normal

- Creatinine normal OR creatinine clearance > 60 mL/min

- Blood pressure < 140/90 mm Hg on 2 separate occasions not more than 6 weeks prior to
enrollment and not less than 24 hours apart (stable antihypertensive regimen allowed)

- Mean QTc ≤ 470 msec (with Bazett's correction)

- Less than +1 proteinuria on two consecutive dipsticks taken no less than 1 week apart

- Not pregnant or nursing

- Negative pregnancy test

- Fertile patients must use effective contraception

- No history of familial long QT syndrome

- No cardiac arrhythmia

- No unstable angina pectoris

- No symptomatic congestive heart failure

- No New York Heart Association class III or IV disease

- No ongoing or active infection

- No hypertension

- No other uncontrolled intercurrent illness

- No history of allergic reactions attributed to compounds of similar chemical or
biologic composition to AZD2171

- No psychiatric illness or social situations that would limit compliance with study
requirements

- See Disease Characteristics

- More than 4 weeks since prior radiotherapy and recovered

- More than 4 weeks since prior major surgery and recovered

- More than 4 weeks since prior chemotherapy (6 weeks for nitrosoureas or mitomycin C)
and recovered

- More than 30 days since other prior investigational agents

- No prior therapy with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) binding agents or
VEGF receptor (VEGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitors

- No more than 1 prior nonVEGF-directed systemic therapy for this disease

- No concurrent medication that may markedly affect renal function (e.g., vancomycin,
amphotericin, ibuprofen, pentamidine)

- No combination antiretroviral therapy for HIV-positive patients

- No concurrent hematopoietic growth factors except epoetin alfa and bisphosphonates

- No concurrent hormones or other chemotherapeutic agents except for steroids given for
adrenal failure and hormones administered for nondisease-related conditions (e.g.
insulin for diabetes)

- No concurrent palliative or therapeutic radiation therapy

- No concurrent drugs or biologics with proarrhythmic potential

- No other concurrent investigational or commercial agents or therapies to treat the
patient's malignancy