Sunitinib in Treating Young Patients With Refractory Solid Tumors

Inclusion criteria

* Histologically confirmed solid tumor (not required for patients with intrinsic brain stem tumors or optic pathway gliomas) * Recurrent or refractory disease * Measurable or evaluable disease * No known curative therapy or therapy proven to prolong survival with an acceptable quality of life exists * Patients with metastatic bone marrow disease are eligible but are not evaluable for hematologic toxicity * Must not be refractory to red blood cell or platelet transfusions * Primary CNS tumors or known CNS metastases allowed * Neurological deficits must have been relatively stable for ≥ 1 week before study enrollment * No imaging evidence of prior intracranial hemorrhage * No evidence of new CNS hemorrhage on baseline MRI obtained within 14 days before study enrollment (ECHO gradient MRI sequences per institutional guidelines required for evaluation of CNS hemorrhage) * The presence of small punctuate CNS hemorrhage on these scans will exclude a patient from participation * No known bone marrow metastatic disease * No tumors involving the pleural surface * Karnofsky performance status (PS) 50-100% (\> 10 years of age) OR Lansky PS 50-100% (≤ 10 years of age) * Absolute neutrophil count ≥ 1,000/mm³\* * Platelet count ≥ 100,000/mm³ (transfusion independent)\* * Hemoglobin ≥ 8.0 g/dL (transfusions allowed)\* * Creatinine clearance or radioisotope glomerular filtration rate ≥ 70 mL/min OR creatinine based on age/gender as follows: * No greater than 0.8 mg/dL (2 to 5 years of age) * No greater than 1 mg/dL (6 to 9 years of age) * No greater than 1.2 mg/dL (10 to 12 years of age) * No greater than 1.5 mg/dL (male) OR 1.4 mg/dL (female) (13 to 15 years of age) * No greater than 1.7 mg/dL (male) OR 1.4 mg/dL (female) (≥ 16 years of age) * Bilirubin ≤ 1.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN) * ALT and AST ≤ 2.5 times ULN (≤ 5 times ULN for liver metastases) * Albumin ≥ 2 g/dL * LVEF or shortening fraction normal * Corrected QT interval ≤ 450 msec * Amylase ≤ 1.5 times ULN * Lipase ≤ 1.5 times ULN * Body surface area ≥ 0.5 m² (≥ 0.4 m² for part B) * Blood pressure within ULN * Not pregnant or nursing * Fertile patients must use effective contraception * No uncontrolled infection * Able to swallow sunitinib malate capsules (part A only) * No pre-existing thyroid abnormality (hyper- or hypothyroidism) with unstable thyroid function * No prior CNS hemorrhage * No history of allergic reaction attributed to sunitinib malate or component of sunitinib malate capsules * No allergy to both applesauce and yogurt (part B only) * Recovered from prior therapy * No prior sunitinib malate * No prior anthracycline (any dose) * No prior radiotherapy to a radiation field that included the heart(including total body or craniospinal irradiation) * At least 3 months since prior stem cell transplantation or rescue (without total-body irradiation) and no evidence of graft-vs-host disease * At least 2 weeks since prior local, palliative, small-port radiotherapy (at least 6 months for radiation to ≥ 50% of pelvis) * At least 6 weeks since other prior substantial bone marrow radiotherapy * At least 3 weeks since prior myelosuppressive therapy (6 weeks for nitrosoureas) * At least 1 week since prior antineoplastic biologic agents * At least 1 week since prior and no concurrent hematopoietic growth factors * At least 12 days since prior and no concurrent CYP3A4 inducers, including any of the following: * Rifampin * Rifabutin * Carbamazepine * Phenobarbital * Phenytoin * Hypericum perforatum (St. John's wort) * Efavirenz * Tipranavir * At least 7 days since prior and no concurrent CYP3A4 inhibitors, including any of the following: * Azole antifungals (e.g., itraconazole or ketoconazole) * Clarithromycin * Erythromycin * Diltiazem * Verapamil * HIV protease inhibitors (e.g., indinavir, saquinavir, ritonavir, atazanavir, or nelfinavir) * Delavirdine * No more than 1 concurrent antihypertensive agent * No concurrent major surgery * No concurrent antithrombotic or antiplatelet agents, including any of the following: * Warfarin * Heparin * Low molecular weight heparin * Acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin) * Ibuprofen * Other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs * No concurrent medication for the treatment of hypertension * No other concurrent investigational drugs * No other concurrent anticancer agents, including chemotherapy, radiotherapy, immunotherapy, or biologic therapy