Inclusion Criteria

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

- Histologically confirmed clear cell kidney cancer, meeting 1 of the following
criteria:

- Measurable metastatic disease

- Locally unresectable disease

- No history of known brain metastases that have not been adequately treated with
radiotherapy and/or surgery

- Must have received ≥ 1 prior systemic therapy for metastatic or unresectable renal
cell carcinoma

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

- Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status 0-2

- Absolute neutrophil count > 1,500/mm³

- Platelet count > 100,000/mm³

- Hemoglobin > 8 g/dL

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

- Serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase(SGOT) and Serum glutamic pyruvic
transaminase(SGPT) < 2.5 times ULN

- Creatinine < 1.5 times ULN

- No New York Heat Association grade III-IV cardiac disease

- No other malignancy within the past 5 years except basal cell skin cancer, cervical
carcinoma in situ, or insignificant or inactive disease

- No chronic liver disease (i.e., chronic active hepatitis or cirrhosis)

- No severe or uncontrolled medical disease

- No gastrointestinal disease or impairment that would hinder the absorption of
everolimus

- No uncontrolled diabetes

- No chronic renal disease

- No active uncontrolled infection

- No congestive heart failure

- No myocardial infarction within the past 6 months

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

- See Disease Characteristics

- More than 2 weeks since prior major surgery

- More than 4 weeks since prior chemotherapy (6 weeks for nitrosourea or mitomycin C)

- More than 4 weeks since prior immunotherapy

- More than 4 weeks since other prior investigational agents

- No prior radiotherapy to > 25% of bone marrow

- No prior treatment with an mammalian target of rapamycin(mTOR) inhibitor

- No concurrent therapeutic warfarin