Trastuzumab in Treating Patients With Locally Advanced or Metastatic Synovial Sarcoma

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Histologically confirmed synovial sarcoma meeting 1 of the following stage criteria:

  • Locally advanced disease, defined as 1 of the following:

    • Incurable by conventional multidisciplinary therapy, including surgery
    • Surgically resectable only with significant morbidity
  • Metastatic disease
• Tumor HER2/neu positive (2+ or 3+) by immunohistochemistry
• Tumor tissue must be available AND patient must be willing to allow specimen submission
• Measurable disease
• No known CNS metastases

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Age

• 18 and over

Performance status

• Zubrod 0-2

Life expectancy

• Not specified

Hematopoietic

• Absolute neutrophil count > 1,000/mm\^3
• Hemoglobin > 8 g/dL
• Platelet count > 100,000/mm\^3

Hepatic

• Bilirubin \< 1.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN)
• SGOT and/or SGPT \< 1.5 times ULN (5 times ULN if liver metastases are present)

Renal

• Creatinine \< 1.5 times ULN OR
• Creatinine clearance > 60 mL/min

Cardiovascular

• LVEF > 45% by MUGA

Gastrointestinal

• No active peptic ulcer disease
• No active gastrointestinal bleeding
• No active inflammatory bowel disease

Other

• Not pregnant or nursing
• Fertile patients must use effective contraception
• No known HIV positivity
• No other malignancy within the past 5 years except adequately treated basal cell or squamous cell skin cancer, carcinoma in situ of the cervix, or adequately treated stage I or II cancer in complete remission

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

Biologic therapy

• No concurrent filgrastim (G-CSF)

Chemotherapy

• At least 3 weeks since prior chemotherapy

Endocrine therapy

• Not specified

Radiotherapy

• At least 60 days since prior radiotherapy to the target lesion*
• No concurrent radiotherapy NOTE: *Lesion must have demonstrated disease progression after completion of therapy

Surgery

• At least 21 days since prior major surgery and recovered

Other

• At least 60 days since prior embolization or radiofrequency ablation to the target lesion* NOTE: *Lesion must have demonstrated disease progression after completion of therapy