DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Histologically or cytologically confirmed renal cell cancer

  • Locally recurrent or metastatic disease
  • Progressive unresectable disease
  • Not considered curable by standard therapy

• Measurable disease, defined as ≥ 1 unidimensionally measurable lesion ≥ 20 mm by conventional techniques or ≥ 10 mm by spiral CT scan

  • Bone lesions are not considered measurable disease
  • Sole site of measurable disease may lie within a previously irradiated field provided there has been subsequent documented disease progression
• No known brain metastases

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Age

• 18 and over

Performance status

• ECOG 0-2 OR
• Karnofsky 60-100%

Life expectancy

• More than 3 months

Hematopoietic

• Absolute neutrophil count ≥ 1,500/mm^3
• Platelet count ≥ 100,000/mm^3

Hepatic

• Bilirubin ≤ 1.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN)
• AST and ALT ≤ 3 times ULN

Renal

• Creatinine ≤ 1.5 times ULN OR
• Creatinine clearance ≥ 60 mL/min
• No proteinuria > +1 on 2 consecutive dipstick tests taken ≥ 1 week apart

Cardiovascular

• QTc ≤ 470 msec (with Bazett's correction) by ECG
• No history of familial long QT syndrome
• No hypertension
• No symptomatic congestive heart failure
• No unstable angina pectoris
• No cardiac arrhythmia

• No New York Heart Association class III or IV disease

  • Class II disease with increased monitoring is allowed

Other

• Not pregnant or nursing
• Negative pregnancy test
• Fertile patients must use effective contraception
• No history of allergic reaction attributed to compounds of similar chemical or biological composition to study drug
• No ongoing or active infection
• No psychiatric illness or social situation that would preclude study compliance
• No other uncontrolled illness

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

Biologic therapy

• No prior immunotherapy or gene therapy
• No drugs or biologics with proarrythmic potential

Chemotherapy

• No prior systemic chemotherapy

Endocrine therapy

• Not specified

Radiotherapy

• See Disease Characteristics
• At least 4 weeks since prior radiotherapy, except low-dose, non-myelosuppressive radiotherapy, and recovered
• No concurrent radiotherapy to the sole site of measurable disease

Surgery

• At least 4 weeks since prior major surgery and recovered

Other

• No prior investigational therapy
• No prior participation in another investigational study
• No other concurrent investigational agents
• No concurrent combination antiretroviral therapy for HIV-positive patients
• No other concurrent anticancer therapy