Sorafenib Tosylate in Treating Patients With Malignant Mesothelioma.

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: I. To determine the response rate (partial response (PR) and complete response (CR)) in patients with malignant mesothelioma treated with BAY 43-9006. SECONDARY OBJECTIVES: I. To determine 3-month failure free survival in patients with malignant mesothelioma treated with BAY 43-9006. II. To describe the median and overall survival of malignant mesothelioma patients treated with BAY 43-9006. III. To describe the toxicity profile of BAY 43-9006 in patients with malignant mesothelioma. IV. To determine whether mesotheliomas contain mutations in exons 11 and 15 of the B-raf gene and correlate these findings with anti-tumor activity of BAY 43-9006. V. To determine whether the amount of expression of phospho-ERK1/2, as determined by immunohistochemistry from pre-treatment tumor specimens, correlates with anti-tumor activity of BAY 43-9006 in patients with mesothelioma. VI. To determine whether baseline levels and changes following BAY 43-9006 treatment in angiogenic cytokines (VEGF and PDGF) correlate with anti-tumor activity of BAY 43-9006. OUTLINE: This is a multicenter study. Patients receive oral sorafenib twice daily on days 1-28. Courses repeat every 28 days in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. After completion of study treatment, patients are followed at least every 2 months for 1 year, every 4 months for 1 year, and then every 6 months for 1 year.