DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Histologically confirmed malignant solid tumor OR lymphoma

  • Metastatic or unresectable disease
• Standard curative or palliative measures are not available OR are associated with minimal survival benefit

• No known brain metastases

  • Treated brain metastases allowed provided they have been stable ≥ 6 months without steroids or anti-seizure medications

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
• WBC ≥ 3,000/mm^3
• Hemoglobin > 8 g/dL

Hepatic

• AST and ALT ≤ 2 times upper limit of normal
• Bilirubin ≤ 1.5 times normal
• PT and PTT ≤ 1.5 times normal (unless due to the presence of lupus anticoagulant or stable anticoagulation)

Renal

• Creatinine normal OR
• Creatinine clearance ≥ 60 mL/min

Cardiovascular

• No symptomatic congestive heart failure
• No unstable angina pectoris
• No orthostatic hypotension > grade 2 (requiring more than brief fluid replacement or other therapy OR with physiological consequences)
• No New York Heart Association class III or IV heart failure
• LVEF ≥ 40% by MUGA
• QTc ≤ 450 msec (470 msec for women)
• No congenital long QT syndrome
• No myocardial infarction within the past year
• No active ischemic heart disease within the past year
• No history of uncontrolled dysrhythmias
• No history of serious ventricular arrhythmia (ventricular fibrillation or ventricular tachycardia > 3 premature ventricular contractions in a row)
• Not requiring antiarrhythmic drugs
• No poorly controlled angina
• No left bundle branch block

Pulmonary

• No uncontrolled symptomatic pulmonary disease, including any of the following:

  • Dyspnea off or on exertion
  • Paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea
  • Severe chronic obstructive/restrictive pulmonary disease requiring daily chronic medications and oxygen
• Must not meet the Medicare criteria for home oxygen
• No sufficiently compromised pulmonary status as measured by baseline pulmonary function tests and DLCO

Other

• Not pregnant or nursing
• Negative pregnancy test
• Fertile patients must use effective contraception during and for 2 months after study participation
• No known HIV positivity
• No hyponatremia indicated by sodium < 130 mmol/L
• No known immunodeficiency syndromes
• No history of allergic reaction attributed to compounds of similar chemical or biological composition to 17-dimethylaminoethylamino-17-demethoxygeldanamycin (geldanamycin or 17-AAG)
• No concurrent uncontrolled illness
• No active or ongoing uncontrolled infection
• No psychiatric illness or social situation that would preclude study compliance

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

Biologic therapy

• More than 4 weeks since prior biologic therapy and recovered
• No concurrent prophylactic growth factors

Chemotherapy

• More than 4 weeks since prior chemotherapy (6 weeks for nitrosoureas or mitomycin, 8 weeks for UCN-01) and recovered

Endocrine therapy

• See Disease Characteristics
• Concurrent hormonal therapy for prostate cancer allowed provided patient has metastatic disease that has progressed despite prior hormonal therapy

Radiotherapy

• More than 4 weeks since prior radiotherapy and recovered
• No prior radiotherapy that included the heart in the field (e.g., mantle radiotherapy)

Surgery

• At least 4 weeks since prior major surgery

Other

• At least 2 weeks since prior participation in a phase 0 study
• Concurrent bisphosphonates for any cancer allowed
• Concurrent preventative doses of aspirin or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs allowed
• No concurrent drugs that may prolong QTc interval
• No concurrent full anticoagulation on a regular basis
• No concurrent prophylactic antiemetics
• No other concurrent investigational agents or therapies
• No other concurrent anticancer agents or therapies