DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Histologically confirmed metastatic or unresectable renal cell carcinoma

  • Disease must be conventional clear cell carcinoma or have a component of conventional clear cell renal carcinoma

  • The following cellular subtypes are NOT eligible:

    • True papillary carcinoma
    • Sarcomatoid features without any clear cell component
    • Chromophobe
    • Oncocytoma
    • Collecting duct tumors
    • Transitional cell carcinoma

• Receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI)-resistant disease

  • Must have received one (and only one) prior treatment with either sunitinib malate (Sutent) or sorafenib (Nexavar) for ≥ 3 months
  • Treatment with TKI must have ended ≥ 1 week prior to study treatment and all toxicities must have resolved
• Measurable lesions
• Must have evidence of progressive disease by CT scan and other appropriate clinical documentation
• No history of CNS metastases

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

• ECOG performance status 0-2
• AST and ALT ≤ 3 times upper limit of normal (ULN)
• Bilirubin ≤ 1.5 times ULN
• Absolute neutrophil count ≥ 1,000/mm³
• Platelet count ≥ 100,000/mm³
• Hemoglobin ≥ 8.0 g/dL
• Calcium ≤ 12.0 mg/dL
• INR normal (or ≤ 1.5 times ULN if on prophylactic anticoagulation)
• aPTT normal
• Creatinine clearance ≥ 60 mL/min
• Proteinuria ≤ 500 mg by 24-hour urine collection OR urine protein:creatinine ratio ≤ 1
• Not pregnant or nursing
• Negative pregnancy test
• Fertile patients must use effective contraception during and for 6 months after completion of study treatment
• No other malignancy within the past 5 years except curatively treated basal cell or squamous cell carcinoma of the skin or carcinoma in situ of the cervix

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

  • Myocardial infarction
  • Severe/unstable angina pectoris
  • Coronary/peripheral artery bypass graft
  • New York Heart Association class III or IV congestive heart failure
  • Cerebrovascular accident or transient ischemic attack
• No prior pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis, or other thromboembolic event

• No history of uncontrolled or labile hypertension (with or without antihypertensive drug treatment), defined as any of the following:

  • Blood pressure > 150/100 mm Hg
  • Systolic blood pressure > 180 mm Hg on ≥ 2 repeated determinations on separate days within the past 3 months
• No known active infection or bleeding, intratumoral bleeding, or underlying bleeding disorder
• No known history of hypersensitivity to any Trap agents or recombinant proteins
• No HIV-positive patients receiving combination anti-retroviral therapy

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

• See Disease Characteristics
• Recovered from prior radiotherapy or surgery within 4 weeks prior to randomization
• Prior immunotherapy limited to cytokine therapy with aldesleukin (interleukin-2) or interferon alfa allowed
• No prior chemotherapy, cellular therapy, vaccine therapy, or hormonal therapy

• Prior radiotherapy is allowed provided there is measurable disease outside the radiotherapy port

  • At least 3 weeks since prior radiotherapy
• No other concurrent systemic anticancer agents
• No other concurrent investigational therapies or devices
• No concurrent corticosteroids except as replacement therapy for patients who have previously received suppressive doses or who have adrenal insufficiency