Arsenic Trioxide in Treating Patients With Advanced Neuroblastoma or Other Childhood Solid Tumors

OBJECTIVES:

- Determine the response rates of patients with advanced neuroblastoma or other pediatric
solid tumors treated with arsenic trioxide.

- Determine the toxicity of this drug in these patients.

OUTLINE: Patients are stratified according to type of disease (neuroblastoma with
progressive disease vs neuroblastoma with stable refractory disease vs other solid tumor).

Patients receive arsenic trioxide IV over 1-4 hours on days 1-5 and 8-12. Treatment repeats
every 28 days for a maximum of 6 courses in the absence of disease progression or
unacceptable toxicity.

Patients are followed every 2-3 months for 1 year and then annually thereafter.

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

- Histologically confirmed neuroblastoma or other pediatric solid tumor (nonmyeloid and
nonlymphoid) including the following:

- Ewing's family of tumors/primitive neuroectodermal tumor

- Retinoblastoma

- Nephroblastoma

- Osteosarcoma

- Rhabdomyosarcoma

- Desmoplastic small round-cell tumor

- Hepatoblastoma

- Germ cell tumors

- Medulloblastoma

- Relapsed from or resistant to prior standard anticancer therapy and/or no known
standard therapy available

- Measurable disease (e.g., solid mass with definable dimensions) OR

- Evaluable disease (e.g., bone marrow involvement or malignant pleural effusion)

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Age:

- 40 and under

Performance status:

- Not specified

Life expectancy:

- Not specified

Hematopoietic:

- Not specified

Hepatic:

- Bilirubin no greater than 2.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN)

Renal:

- Creatinine no greater than 2.5 times ULN

Cardiovascular:

- Absolute QT interval no greater than 460 msec in the presence of adequate potassium
and magnesium levels

Other:

- No pre-existing neurotoxicity/neuropathy grade 2 or greater

- No pre-existing convulsive disorder

- No active serious infections uncontrolled by antibiotics

- Negative pregnancy test

- Fertile patients must use effective contraception

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

Biologic therapy:

- Not specified

Chemotherapy:

- More than 3 weeks since prior cytotoxic chemotherapy

- No other concurrent cytotoxic chemotherapy

Endocrine therapy:

- Not specified

Radiotherapy:

- Concurrent radiotherapy allowed provided measurable or evaluable disease exists
outside radiation field

Surgery:

- Not specified

Other:

- No other concurrent investigational agents