Inclusion Criteria

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

- Diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity, oropharynx, hypopharynx, or
larynx

- Recurrent or metastatic disease

- Measurable disease

- Not a candidate for curative therapy

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

- ECOG performance status 0-2

- Absolute neutrophil count ≥ 1,500/mm³

- Hemoglobin ≥ 8.0 g/dL

- Platelet count ≥ 100,000/mm³

- AST, ALT, and alkaline phosphatase (AP) meeting 1 of the following criteria:

- AP normal AND AST and ALT ≤ 5 times upper limit of normal (ULN)

- AP ≤ 2.5 times ULN AND AST and ALT ≤ 1.5 times ULN

- AP ≤ 5 times ULN AND AST and ALT normal

- Bilirubin normal

- Creatinine clearance ≤ 2.0 mg/dL

- No peripheral neuropathy ≥ grade 2 within the past 28 days

- No myocardial infarction within the past 6 months

- No New York Heart Association class III or IV heart failure

- No uncontrolled angina

- No severe uncontrolled ventricular arrhythmias

- No electrocardiographic evidence of acute ischemia or active conduction system
abnormalities

- No known hypersensitivity to bortezomib, boron, or mannitol

- No known severe hypersensitivity reaction to docetaxel or other drugs formulated with
polysorbate 80

- No serious medical or psychiatric illness that would preclude study participation

- No other malignancy within the past 3 years except for early-stage nonmelanomatous
skin cancer, carcinoma in situ of the cervix, or early-stage prostate cancer

- Not pregnant or nursing

- Negative pregnancy test

- Fertile patients must use effective contraception during and for ≥ 3 months after
completion of study treatment

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

- No prior chemotherapy for recurrent or metastatic disease

- At least 28 days since prior and no other concurrent investigational drugs

- No other concurrent anticancer therapy

- No other concurrent chemotherapy

- No concurrent complementary or herbal medicine

- No concurrent filgrastim (G-CSF) or sargramostim (GM-CSF)