DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Histologically or cytologically confirmed renal cell carcinoma

  • Metastatic or unresectable disease
• Must have received prior sunitinib malate or sorafenib tosylate for metastatic or unresectable disease

• Measurable disease

  • No soft tissue disease that has been irradiated within the past 2 months

• More than 6 months since prior and no concurrent treated or untreated brain metastases

  • Stable, treated brain metastases allowed provided they remained stable for more than 6 months
  • Patients with clinical evidence of brain metastases must have a negative brain CT or MRI scan for metastatic disease

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

• Zubrod performance status 0-1
• Urine protein:creatinine ratio ≤ 0.5 OR urine protein < 1,000 mg by 24-hour collection
• Not be pregnant or nursing
• Fertile patients must use effective contraception during and for at least 6 months after completion of study therapy
• No serious or non-healing wound, ulcer, or bone fracture
• No clinically relevant bleeding diathesis or coagulopathy
• No abdominal fistula, gastrointestinal perforation, or intra-abdominal abscess within the past 28 days
• No significant traumatic injury within the past 28 days
• No known hypersensitivity to Chinese hamster ovary cell products or other recombinant human antibodies
• No other prior malignancy, except adequately treated basal cell or squamous cell skin cancer, carcinoma in situ of the cervix, adequately treated stage I or II cancer from which the patient is currently in complete remission, or any other cancer from which the patient has been disease-free for 5 years
• No New York Heart Association class II-IV congestive heart failure

• No unstable symptomatic arrhythmia requiring medication

  • Chronic, controlled arrhythmias (e.g., atrial fibrillation or paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia) allowed
• No clinically significant vascular disease (e.g., aortic aneurysm or history of aortic dissection)

• None of the following cardiovascular conditions within the past 6 months:

  • Arterial thrombosis
  • Unstable angina
  • Myocardial infarction
  • Cerebrovascular accident
• Must have controlled blood pressure, defined as systolic blood pressure (BP) ≤ 160 mm Hg and/or diastolic BP ≤ 90 mm Hg

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

• See Disease Characteristics
• More than 7 days since prior core biopsy
• At least 14 days since completion of prior therapy and recovered

• At least 28 days since prior radiotherapy and recovered

  • No prior radiotherapy to ≥ 25% of bone marrow
• No more than two prior systemic regimens for renal cell carcinoma (including adjuvant treatment)
• No prior bevacizumab or humanized monoclonal antibody MEDI-522
• No major surgical procedure or open biopsy within the past 28 days
• No concurrent need for a major surgical procedure

• Concurrent full-dose anticoagulation with warfarin allowed provided INR is between 2-3

  • Concurrent low molecular weight heparin allowed