DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Histologically or cytologically confirmed hepatocellular carcinoma

  • Unresectable, locally advanced, or metastatic disease

• Measurable disease, defined as ≥ 1 unidimensionally measurable lesion ≥ 20 mm by conventional techniques OR

  • 10 mm by spiral CT scan
• Child's Pugh score A5, A6, B7, or B8
• No known brain metastases
• No history of primary CNS tumors

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

• ECOG performance status (PS) 0-2 OR Karnofsky PS 60-100%
• Life expectancy > 3 months
• Leukocytes ≥ 3,000/mcL
• Absolute neutrophil count ≥ 1,500/mcL
• Platelet count ≥ 75,000/mcL
• Total bilirubin ≤ 2 times upper limit of normal (ULN)
• AST/ALT ≤ 2.5 times ULN
• PT/INR ≤ 1.7 times ULN
• Creatinine ≤ 1.5 mg/dL OR creatinine clearance ≥ 60 mL/min
• Fasting serum glucose ≤ 125 mg/dL
• Not pregnant or nursing
• Negative pregnancy test
• Fertile patients must use effective contraception
• No clinical encephalopathy
• No history of allergic reactions attributed to compounds of similar chemical or biologic composition to anti-IGF-1R recombinant monoclonal antibody IMC-A12

• No poorly controlled diabetes mellitus

  • Patients with a history of diabetes mellitus are eligible provided their blood glucose is within normal range (fasting blood glucose < 120 mg/dL OR below ULN) and patient is on a stable dietary or therapeutic regimen for this condition

• No concurrent uncontrolled illness including, but not limited to, any of the following:

  • Ongoing or active infection
  • Symptomatic congestive heart failure
  • Unstable angina pectoris
  • Cardiac arrhythmia
  • Psychiatric illness or social situation that would preclude compliance with study requirements
• No history of seizures not well controlled with standard medical therapy
• No history of stroke

• No history of another primary cancer except for the following:

  • Curatively resected nonmelanoma skin cancer
  • Curatively treated carcinoma in situ of the cervix
  • Other primary solid tumor with no known active disease present that in the opinion of the investigator would not affect treatment outcome

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

• Prior local therapy (i.e., surgery, radiotherapy, hepatic arterial embolization, radiofrequency ablation, percutaneous ethanol injection, or cryoablation) allowed provided the target lesion has not been treated with local therapy and/or the target lesion within the field of local therapy has shown an increase of ≥ 25% in size

  • At least 4 weeks since prior local therapy
• No prior systemic therapy except for sorafenib tosylate
• No prior agents targeting the IGF or IGF-1R pathway
• No concurrent combination antiretroviral therapy for HIV-positive patients
• No other concurrent investigational agents
• No concurrent anticancer therapy