DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Biopsy-confirmed ovarian epithelial, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cavity cancer
• Measurable disease

• Relapsed disease OR disease refractory to prior standard platinum- and taxane-based therapy

  • Metastatic disease allowed
• Presence of a sentinal lesion adequate for percutaneous core biopsy
• No CNS involvement

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

• ECOG performance status 0-2
• WBC > 3,000/mm³
• Absolute neutrophil count > 1,000/mm³
• Platelet count > 150,000/mm³
• Creatinine < 1.5 mg/dL
• AST and ALT ≤ 2.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN)
• Bilirubin < 1.5 mg/dL
• Potassium between 4.0 mg/dL and ULN (supplementation allowed)
• Magnesium and calcium normal (supplementation allowed)
• Systolic blood pressure (BP) < 160 mm Hg and diastolic BP < 100 mm Hg (therapy permitted)
• Not pregnant or nursing
• Negative pregnancy test
• Fertile patients must use effective barrier contraception prior to study entry, during therapy, and for 3 months after completion of study therapy
• No severe or uncontrolled systemic disease or concurrent condition that would preclude study compliance or participation
• No peripheral neuropathy > grade 2

• No history of clinically significant cardiac disorders, including any of the following:

  • Myocardial infarction
  • New York Heart Association class II-IV cardiac disease within the past 3 months
  • History of medication-induced QTc prolongation requiring discontinuation of that medication
  • Congenital long QT syndrome
  • Unmeasurable QTc OR QTc ≥ 480 msec by ECG
  • First-degree relative with unexplained early sudden cardiac death (at < 40 years of age)
  • Left bundle branch block
  • Cardiac disease, that in the opinion of the investigator, increases the risk of ventricular arrhythmia

  • Uncontrolled symptomatic arrhythmia, including any of the following:

    • Multifocal premature ventricular contractions
    • Bigeminy or trigeminy
    • Ventricular tachycardia
    • Uncontrolled atrial fibrillation
• No deep venous thrombosis or pulmonary embolism within the past 3 months

• No active infection

  • Patients may become eligible once infection has resolved and they have been off antibiotic treatment for at least 7 days
• No incomplete wound healing from prior surgery or injury
• No active diarrhea that is uncontrolled with medication (e.g., bulk agents or loperamide) and that may affect the ability to absorb vandetanib

• No prior or concurrent malignancies within the past 5 years except for the following:

  • Curatively treated cervical carcinoma in situ
  • Curatively treated ductal or lobular carcinoma in situ that does not require ongoing therapeutic intervention
• No gastrointestinal bleeding or gross hematuria within the past 30 days

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

• See Disease Characteristics
• Recovered from all prior therapies
• No more than 4 prior regimens for the treatment of ovarian cancer
• At least 4 weeks since prior chemotherapy, radiotherapy, hormonal therapy, or alternative therapy
• At least 6 weeks since prior carboplatin
• At least 4 weeks since prior major surgical procedures
• At least 4 weeks since prior investigational agents
• No medication that may cause QTc prolongation or induce torsades de pointes 2 weeks prior to, during, and for at least 4 weeks after study therapy
• No concurrent CYP3A4 inhibiting drugs
• No concurrent complementary or alternative medication (e.g., Hypericum perforatum [St. John's wort]) or other agents (e.g., phenytoin, carbamazepine, barbiturates) that may interact with vandetanib
• No concurrent radiotherapy
• No concurrent anticoagulation
• No concurrent grapefruit juice
• No other concurrent anticancer agents
• No other concurrent investigational agents