Irinotecan Plus Cyclosporine and Phenobarbital in Treating Patients With Solid Tumors or Lymphoma

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Malignant solid tumor or lymphoma refractory to standard therapy or for which no therapy of proven benefit exists
• No leukemia
• Measurable or evaluable disease

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

• Age: 18 and over
• Performance status: Karnofsky 70-100%
• Life expectancy: At least 3 months
• WBC at least 3,500/mm3
• Absolute neutrophil count at least 1,500/mm3
• Platelet count at least 100,000/mm3
• Hemoglobin at least 9 g/dL
• Bilirubin no greater than 1.5 mg/dL
• AST/ALT less than twice normal (unless due to disease)
• PT and PTT normal
• Creatinine no greater than 1.5 mg/dL
• Creatinine clearance at least 60 mL/min
• No history of congestive heart failure requiring medical therapy
• No clinically significant or life threatening cardiac arrhythmia
• No history of significant pulmonary disease or lymphangitic lung disease
• No hypersensitivity to cyclosporine or cremophore
• No history of manifest or latent porphyria or hypersensitivity to barbiturates (for parts of study using phenobarbital)
• No history of inflammatory bowel disease requiring therapy
• No chronic diarrhea syndrome or paralytic ileus
• No medical or psychiatric condition that precludes informed consent
• Not pregnant
• Effective contraception required of fertile women

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

• At least 4 weeks since prior biologic therapy
• At least 2 weeks since prior colony stimulating factors
• At least 4 weeks since prior chemotherapy (at least 6 weeks since nitrosoureas or mitomycin)
• No prior bleomycin or irinotecan
• At least 4 weeks since prior radiotherapy to greater than 25% of bone marrow
• Minimum time interval between prior therapy and eligibility shortened by 2 weeks when phenobarbital is administered
• Concurrent use of medications that affect the central nervous or cardiovascular systems (e.g., anticonvulsants, calcium channel blockers, oral contraceptives) must be approved by the Principal Investigator