DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Histologically confirmed melanoma or other malignancies

  • Must be refractory or resistant to established treatments OR have metastatic disease for which no effective therapy has been established

  • Gliomas or controlled CNS metastasis allowed

    • A CT scan or MRI must confirm stable brain metastases within 28 days of study entry
    • Patients with primary CNS malignancies refractory to other therapies are eligible
• Malignancy potentially responsive to sodium stibogluconate and/or interferon alfa-2b and combination chemotherapy

• Patients must have measurable or evaluable disease

  • Evaluable disease can include clinically or radiographically nonmeasurable tumor, specific tumor markers, or stage IV patients with no evidence of disease (NED)

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

• Inclusion criteria:

  • ECOG performance status 0-2
  • Granulocytes > 1,500/μl
  • Platelets > 100,000/μl
  • Creatinine < 1.5 x upper limit of normal (ULN)
  • Bilirubin < 1.5 x ULN
  • AST and ALT < 1.5 x ULN (unless due to hepatic metastases)
  • Potassium ≤ 5.0 mmol/L
  • Magnesium ≤ 2.4 mg/dL
  • Creatinine clearance ≥ 60 cc/min
  • Ejection fraction ≥ 50%

• Exclusion criteria:

  • Pregnant or lactating women and fertile women or men unless surgically sterile or using effective contraception

    • All female patients of childbearing potential or less than 1 year postmenopausal must have a negative β-HCG pregnancy test at baseline and practice a medically acceptable method of birth control (i.e., oral contraceptives for at least 3 months, implantation of an intrauterine device for at least 2 months, or barrier methods [e.g., vaginal diaphragm, vaginal sponge, or condom with spermicidal jelly]) during and for 3 months after study initiation
  • History of atrial fibrillation, flutter, or other serious arrhythmia (excluding asymptomatic atrial or ventricular premature complexes) in the past 24 months
  • History of congestive heart failure currently requiring treatment; angina pectoris; or other severe cardiovascular disease (i.e., New York Heart Association class III or IV heart disease)
  • Baseline ECG abnormalities suggestive of cardiac conduction delay (i.e., first degree or greater atrio-ventricular block and/or complete or incomplete [QRS > 120 ms] bundle branch block)
  • Baseline ECG abnormalities suggestive of repolarization abnormalities (i.e., QTc ≥ 0.48 sec)

  • Culture positive acute infections requiring antibiotics within the past 14 days

    • Patients on long term suppressive antibiotic therapies are eligible
  • Known to be positive for HBsAg
  • Patients judged to not be psychologically prepared to understand informed consent or comply with an investigational study

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

• Inclusion criteria:

  • Prior interferon therapy is allowed if administered ≥ 4 months ago
  • At least 3 weeks since prior major surgery, radiation therapy, or chemotherapy

• Exclusion criteria:

  • No prior treatment with interferon, sodium stibogluconate, cisplatin, vinblastine, or dacarbazine, except if given in an adjuvant setting
  • Patients with a prior history of solid organ allografts or allogeneic bone marrow transplant

  • Patients taking the following medications will not be eligible:

    • Amiodarone (Cordarone)
    • Disopyramide (Norpace)
    • Dofetilide (Tikosyn)
    • Procainamide (Procanbid or Pronestyl)
    • Quinidine (Quinaglute)
    • Sotalol (Betapace)
    • Erythromycin
    • Azithromycin (Z-pack)
    • Clarithromycin (Biaxin)
    • Pentamidine (Pentacarinat)
    • Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (Bactrim)
    • Bepridil (Vascor)
    • Phenothiazines (e.g., prochlorperazine [Compazine], promethazine [Phenergan], or chlorpromazine [Thorazine])
    • Butyrophenones (e.g., Haloperidol [Haldol])
    • Risperidone (Risperdal)
    • Any other antipsychotic medication
    • Tricyclic or tetracyclic antidepressants (e.g., imipramine [Tofranil], amitriptyline [Elavil], desipramine [Norpramin], or nortriptyline [Pamelor])
    • Monoamine oxidase inhibitors
    • High-dose methadone
    • Arsenic trioxide
    • Dolasetron (Anzemet)
    • Any herbal preparations
  • Use of daily glucocorticoids except for physiological replacement