Bevacizumab in Treating Patients With Unresectable or Metastatic Kidney Cancer

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

Histologically confirmed papillary renal cell carcinoma (RCC)

Unresectable and/or metastatic disease
Measurable disease, defined as ≥ 1 lesion that can be accurately measured in ≥ 1 dimension and is ≥ 10 mm by spiral CT scan
No known CNS (central nervous system) disease

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Inclusion criteria:

ECOG (Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group) performance status 0-1
Life expectancy > 6 months
ANC (absolute neutrophil count) ≥ 1,000/mm^3
Platelet count ≥ 100,000/mm^3
Hemoglobin ≥ 10.0 g/dL
Total bilirubin ≤ 2.0 mg/dL
AST (aspartate aminotransferase) and ALT (Alanine transaminase) < 3 times normal
Creatinine clearance > 50 mg/mL
Calcium < 12 mg/dL (when corrected for level of serum albumin)
No known HIV infection
Not pregnant or nursing
Negative pregnancy test
Fertile patients must use effective contraception

Exclusion criteria:

Inadequately controlled hypertension (defined as systolic blood pressure [BP] > 150 mm Hg and/or diastolic BP > 100 mm Hg on antihypertensive medications)
Prior history of hypertensive crisis or hypertensive encephalopathy
New York Heart Association class II-IV congestive heart failure
Myocardial infarction or unstable angina within the past 6 months
Stroke or transient ischemic attack within the past 6 months
Significant vascular disease (e.g., aortic aneurysm or aortic dissection)
Symptomatic peripheral vascular disease
Evidence of bleeding diathesis or coagulopathy
Significant traumatic injury within the past 28 days
Abdominal fistula, gastrointestinal perforation, or intra-abdominal abscess within the past 6 months
Serious, non-healing wound, ulcer, or bone fracture

Proteinuria at screening as demonstrated by either of the following:

Urine protein:creatinine (UPC) ratio ≥ 1.0 at screening
Urine dipstick for proteinuria ≥ 2+ OR 24-hour urine protein > 1g
Known hypersensitivity to any component of bevacizumab

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

No prior systemic treatment for metastatic papillary RCC
At least 4 weeks since prior palliative radiotherapy of painful areas
More than 28 days since prior major surgical procedure or open biopsy
No concurrent major surgical procedure
More than 7 days since prior core biopsy or other minor surgical procedure, excluding placement of a vascular access device
Concurrent low-dose acetylsalicylic acid (≤ 325 mg/day) allowed in patients at high-risk for arterial thromboembolic disease