DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Histologically confirmed advanced solid tumor

  • Unresectable disease
• Must be refractory to or have refused all standard treatment for the disease
• Willing to provide the biologic specimens (cohort II only)
• No known standard therapy for disease that is not refractory to treatment that is potentially curative or definitely capable of extending life expectancy
• No CNS metastases that are not stable for at least 4 weeks prior to registration based on imaging, clinical assessment, and use of steroids
• No uncontrolled pleural or pericardial effusion of any grade

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Inclusion criteria:

• ECOG performance status 0-2
• Life expectancy ≥ 12 weeks.
• Absolute neutrophil count ≥ 1,500/μL
• Platelet count ≥ 100,000/μL
• Total bilirubin ≤ upper limit of normal (ULN)
• AST ≤ 3 times ULN (5 times ULN if liver involvement)
• Creatinine ≤ 1.5 times ULN
• Hemoglobin ≥ 9.0 g/dL
• Potassium and magnesium must be within normal limits
• LVEF > 50% by ECHO
• Able to swallow pills
• Not pregnant or nursing
• Negative pregnancy test
• Fertile patients must use effective contraception during and for at least 4 weeks after completion of study therapy

Exclusion criteria:

• Uncontrolled infection
• New York Heart Association classification III or IV
• Seizure disorder
• Uncontrolled angina, congestive heart failure, or myocardial infarction within the past 6 months
• Diagnosed congenital long-QT syndrome
• History of clinically significant ventricular arrhythmias (such as ventricular tachycardia, ventricular fibrillation, or torsades de pointes)
• Prolonged QTc interval on pre-entry electrocardiogram (> 450 msec)
• Hypokalemia or hypomagnesemia that cannot be corrected
• Diagnosed congenital bleeding disorders (e.g., von Willebrand disease)
• Diagnosed acquired bleeding disorder within one year (e.g., acquired anti-factor VIII antibodies)
• Ongoing or recent (≤ 3 months prior to registration) significant gastrointestinal bleeding
• Gastrointestinal conditions that may interfere with drug absorption such as ulcerative colitis, Crohn disease, and short bowel syndrome

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

• More than 4 weeks since prior chemotherapy (6 weeks for nitrosoureas and mitomycin C) and recovered
• More than 4 weeks since prior immunotherapy, or biologic therapy (i.e., bevacizumab, trastuzumab [Herceptin®], or cetuximab)
• More than 4 weeks since prior molecular target agents (i.e., erlotinib hydrochloride, sunitinib malate, sorafenib tosylate, gefitinib, imatinib mesylate)

• More than 4 weeks since prior radiotherapy

  • No prior radiotherapy to > 25% of bone marrow
• No other concurrent chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiotherapy, or any ancillary therapy considered investigational
• No concurrent therapy with a CYP3A4 inhibitor or inducer
• No concurrent prophylactic colony-stimulating factors