DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Histologically confirmed squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck meeting 1 of the following criteria:

  • Metastatic at diagnosis
  • Persistent, recurrent, or metastatic disease after definitive surgery and/or radiotherapy
  • Relapsed disease after prior induction or adjuvant therapy
• Not amenable to salvage surgical resection
• No newly diagnosed nonmetastatic disease

• Measurable disease

  • If only site of measurable disease is within a prior radiotherapy port, then clearly progressive disease must be demonstrated
• No prior or concurrent CNS metastases

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Age

• 18 and over

Performance status

• Zubrod 0-1

Life expectancy

• Not specified

Hematopoietic

• Granulocyte count > 1,500/mm^3
• Platelet count > 100,000/mm^3
• No bleeding diathesis

Hepatic

• Bilirubin ≤ 2 times upper limit of normal (ULN)
• Alkaline phosphatase ≤ 2 times ULN
• SGOT or SGPT ≤ 2 times ULN

Renal

• Creatinine < 2 times ULN

Cardiovascular

• No significant history of cardiac disease
• No uncontrolled hypertension
• No congestive heart failure
• No myocardial infarction within the past 6 months
• No unstable angina
• No cardiac ventricular arrhythmias requiring medication

Other

• Not pregnant or nursing
• Fertile patients must use effective contraception
• Able to take oral medication without crushing, dissolving, or chewing tablets
• No active infection requiring systemic therapy
• No psychological, familial, sociological, or geographical condition that would preclude study participation or compliance
• No other malignancy within the past 5 years except adequately treated basal cell or squamous cell skin cancer, carcinoma in situ of the cervix, or adequately treated stage I or II cancer in complete remission

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

Biologic therapy

• No concurrent immunotherapy, biologic therapy, or gene therapy for the malignancy

Chemotherapy

• No prior chemotherapy for recurrent disease or newly diagnosed metastatic disease

• At least 6 months since prior induction or adjuvant chemotherapy

  • No more than 1 prior induction or adjuvant regimen
• No concurrent chemotherapy for the malignancy

Endocrine therapy

• Not specified

Radiotherapy

• See Disease Characteristics
• At least 4 weeks since prior radiotherapy and recovered
• No concurrent radiotherapy for the malignancy

Surgery

• See Disease Characteristics
• At least 4 weeks since prior surgery and recovered

Other

• No concurrent therapeutic anticoagulation
• No other concurrent therapy for the malignancy