DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Diagnosis of thyroid carcinoma of 1 of the following types:

  • Medullary

  • Differentiated

    • Iodine I 131-resistant disease, defined as failure to incorporate and/or progression of measurable disease after treatment with iodine I 131
• Inoperable locoregionally advanced or metastatic disease
• Measurable disease, defined as ≥ 1 lesion ≥ 2.0 cm by conventional techniques OR ≥ 1.0 cm by spiral CT scan
• No active CNS metastases

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Age

• 18 and over

Performance status

• ECOG 0-2

Life expectancy

• Not specified

Hematopoietic

• Absolute neutrophil count ≥ 1,500/mm^3
• Platelet count ≥ 100,000/mm^3
• Hemoglobin ≥ 9.0 g/dL

Hepatic

• Bilirubin ≤ normal
• Alkaline phosphatase ≤ 2.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN)
• AST ≤ 1.5 times ULN

Renal

• Creatinine ≤ 1.5 times ULN

Cardiovascular

• QTc < 450 msec for male patients (470 msec for female patients)
• LVEF > 40% by MUGA
• DLCO ≥ 80%
• No cardiac symptoms ≥ grade 2
• No active ischemic heart disease within the past year
• No congenital long QT syndrome
• No left bundle branch block
• No history of serious ventricular arrhythmia (i.e., ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation ≥ 3 beats in a row)
• No myocardial infarction within the past year
• No New York Heart Association class III or IV congestive heart failure
• No poorly controlled angina
• No history of angina (of any sort) within the past 6 months
• No history of uncontrolled dysrhythmias or requiring antiarrhythmic drugs
• No history of cardiac toxicity after treatment with anthracyclines (e.g., doxorubicin hydrochloride, daunorubicin hydrochloride, mitoxantrone hydrochloride, bleomycin, or carmustine)
• No other significant cardiac disease

Immunologic

• No uncontrolled infection
• No history of serious allergic reaction to eggs

Pulmonary

• No pulmonary symptoms ≥ grade 2

• No symptomatic pulmonary disease requiring medication including the following:

  • Dyspnea on or off exertion
  • Paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea
  • Oxygen requirement
  • Significant pulmonary disease (e.g., chronic obstructive/restrictive pulmonary disease)
• No home oxygen need meeting the Medicare criteria
• No history of pulmonary toxicity after treatment with anthracyclines (e.g., doxorubicin hydrochloride, daunorubicin hydrochloride, mitoxantrone hydrochloride, bleomycin, or carmustine)

Other

• Not pregnant or nursing
• Negative pregnancy test
• Fertile patients must use effective contraception
• No other malignancy within the past 5 years except adequately treated basal cell or squamous cell skin cancer or noninvasive carcinoma
• No active seizure disorder

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

Biologic therapy

• More than 4 weeks since prior and no concurrent immunotherapy
• More than 4 weeks since prior biologic therapy
• No concurrent routine or prophylactic colony-stimulating factors (e.g., filgrastim [G-CSF] or sargramostim [GM-CSF])

Chemotherapy

• More than 4 weeks since prior chemotherapy (6 weeks for mitomycin or nitrosoureas) and recovered
• No other concurrent chemotherapy

Endocrine therapy

• Not specified

Radiotherapy

• See Disease Characteristics
• More than 4 weeks since prior and no concurrent radiotherapy
• More than 4 weeks since prior radiopharmaceuticals
• No prior radiotherapy to > 25% of bone marrow
• No prior radiotherapy that potentially included the heart in the field (i.e., mantle) or chest

Surgery

• More than 4 weeks since prior therapeutic surgery for the tumor

Other

• More than 3 months since prior sublingual nitroglycerin
• No other concurrent investigational ancillary therapy
• Concurrent CYP3A4 inhibitors allowed
• No concurrent medications that prolong or may prolong QTc interval