Vorinostat With or Without Bortezomib in Treating Patients With Refractory or Recurrent Stage IIB, Stage III, or Stage IV Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma

Inclusion criteria

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS: * Histologically confirmed advanced cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL), including its variants mycosis fungoides and Sézary syndrome * Stage IIB-IV disease * Relapsed or refractory disease, including any of the following: * Patients with clinical progression following EORTC-21081 protocol treatment * Intolerant to ≥ 1 prior intravenous chemotherapy, including denileukin diftitox, antibodies or antibody conjugates, or any other systemic therapy * No CNS involvement PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS: * WHO performance status 0-2 * Absolute neutrophil count \> 1.5 x 10\^9/L\* * Platelet count \> 100 x 10\^9/L\* * Hemoglobin \> 9 g/dL\* * WBC \> 3 x 10\^9/L\* * Bilirubin ≤ 1.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN)\* * AST and ALT ≤ 3 times ULN (in case of liver infiltration ≤ 5 x ULN)\* * Serum creatinine ≤ 2.0 mg/dL\* * Calculated creatinine clearance ≥ 60 mL/min * Electrolytes (including potassium and magnesium) ≤ 1 times ULN\* * Not pregnant or nursing prior to the first dose of study treatment and until 4 weeks after the last study treatment * Negative pregnancy test * Fertile patients must use effective contraception during and for 3 months after completion of study therapy * Able to swallow capsules and is able to take or tolerate oral medication on a continuous basis * No New York Heart Association class III-IV disease * None of the following known conditions: * Infectious disease * Autoimmune disease * Immunodeficiency * No known or active HIV and/or hepatitis A, B, or C infection * No NCI CTC grade 1 peripheral sensory neuropathy with pain or peripheral sensory or motor neuropathy ≥ grade II * No other malignancy within the past 5 years * No psychological, familial, sociological, or geographical condition potentially hampering compliance with the study protocol and follow-up schedule NOTE: \*Patients with a buffer range from the normal values of +/- 5% for hematology and +/- 10% for biochemistry are acceptable, except for renal function. PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY: * See Disease Characteristics * Must have completely recovered from previous treatment toxicity * No prior splenectomy or splenic irradiation * No prior bortezomib and/or histone deacetylase inhibitors (including vorinostat \[SAHA\]) * More than 4 weeks since prior chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiotherapy, or surgery * In case of clear progression during previous treatment, 2 weeks of wash-out is enough * No concurrent chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiotherapy, or surgery (except biopsies) * No concurrent steroid (prednisone or equivalent) dose \> 20 mg/day * Prednisone ≤ 20 mg/day for treatment of disorders other than CTCL allowed * No concomitant use of other histone deacetylase inhibitors (e.g., valproic acid)