Temozolomide and O6-benzylguanine in Treating Children With Solid Tumors

You may be eligible if

• DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:
• Histologically confirmed solid tumor refractory to standard therapy and for which no potentially curative therapy exists, including, but not limited to:
• * Rhabdomyosarcoma and other soft tissue sarcomas
• * Ewing's family of tumors
• * Osteosarcoma
• * Neuroblastoma
• * Wilms' tumor
• * Hepatic tumors
• * Germ cell tumors
• * Primary brain tumor
• Histological confirmation may be waived for brainstem or optic gliomas
• Measurable or evaluable disease
• Evidence of progressive disease on prior chemotherapy or radiotherapy or persistent disease after prior surgery
• PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:
• Age:
• 21 and under
• Performance status:
• ECOG 0-2
• Life expectancy:
• At least 8 weeks
• Hematopoietic:
• Absolute granulocyte count greater than 1,500/mm\^3
• Hemoglobin greater than 8 g/dL
• Platelet count greater than 100,000/mm\^3
• Hepatic:
• Bilirubin normal
• SGPT less than 2 times upper limit of normal
• No significant hepatic dysfunction
• Renal:
• Creatinine normal OR
• Creatinine clearance at least 60 mL/min
• Cardiovascular:
• No significant cardiac dysfunction
• Pulmonary:
• No significant pulmonary dysfunction
• Other:
• Not pregnant or nursing
• Negative pregnancy test
• Fertile patients must use effective contraception
• Able to swallow capsules
• No significant unrelated systemic illness that would preclude study (e.g., serious infections or organ dysfunction)
• No prior hypersensitivity to dacarbazine, temozolomide, or polyethylene glycol
• PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:
• Biologic therapy:
• At least 1 week since prior colony-stimulating factors (e.g., filgrastim \[G- CSF\], sargramostim \[GM-CSF\], or epoetin alfa)
• At least 4 months since prior myeloablative therapy requiring bone marrow or stem cell transplantation
• No concurrent anticancer immunotherapy
• Chemotherapy:
• See Disease Characteristics
• At least 3 weeks since prior chemotherapy (4 weeks for nitrosoureas) and recovered
• Prior temozolomide allowed provided not administered within past 3 months, no severe toxicities experienced during prior course, and not given in combination with other agents designed to inactivate alanine-glyoxylate aminotransferase
• No other concurrent investigational or standard anticancer chemotherapy
• Endocrine therapy:
• Concurrent corticosteroids for control of brain tumor-associated edema allowed provided on stable or decreasing dose for at least 1 week prior to study
• Radiotherapy:
• See Disease Characteristics
• At least 4 weeks since prior limited-field radiotherapy
• At least 4 months since prior craniospinal irradiation, total body irradiation, or radiotherapy to more than half of the pelvis
• Recovered from prior radiotherapy
• No concurrent anticancer radiotherapy
• Surgery:
• See Disease Characteristics
• Other:
• At least 4 weeks since other prior investigational therapy and recovered
• No other concurrent anticancer investigational agents