RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Combining more than one drug may kill more tumor cells.

PURPOSE: Phase I trial to study the effectiveness of gemcitabine plus flavopiridol in treating patients who have advanced solid tumors.

OBJECTIVES:

• Determine the maximum tolerated dose of gemcitabine and flavopiridol in patients with advanced solid tumors.
• Determine the toxicity and safety profile of this regimen in these patients.
• Determine the pharmacokinetic profile of this regimen in this patient population.

OUTLINE: This is a dose-escalation study.

Patients receive gemcitabine IV over 1-2.5 hours on days 1 and 8 and flavopiridol IV continuously over 24 hours on days 2 and 9. Courses repeat every 21 days in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.

Cohorts of 3-6 patients receive escalating doses of gemcitabine and flavopiridol until the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) is reached. The MTD is defined as the dose preceding that at which 2 of 3 or 2 of 6 patients experience dose-limiting toxicity.

PROJECTED ACCRUAL: Approximately 6-58 patients will be accrued for this study.

• Drug: alvocidib
• Drug: gemcitabine hydrochloride

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Histologically proven solid tumor for which gemcitabine is a treatment option or for which no effective therapy exists
• Previously untreated disease allowed
• No large and potentially symptomatic pericardial effusion or undrained pleural effusion (with or without pleurodesis)
• No CNS metastases

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Age:

• 18 and over

Performance status:

• ECOG 0-2

Life expectancy:

• At least 12 weeks

Hematopoietic:

• Absolute neutrophil count at least 2,000/mm3
• Platelet count at least 100,000/mm3
• No prior thrombotic events

Hepatic:

• Bilirubin no greater than 1.5 mg/dL
• SGOT no greater than 2 times upper limit of normal

Renal:

• Creatinine no greater than 1.5 mg/dL

Cardiovascular:

• No clinically significant cardiac disease
• No prior deep venous thrombus
• No prior arterial vascular event
• No prior myocardial infarction
• No unstable angina
• No prior transient ischemic attack or cerebrovascular accident
• No cardiac arrhythmias that could be related to cardiac ischemia

Pulmonary:

• No clinically significant pulmonary disease
• No history of pulmonary embolism

Other:

• Not pregnant or nursing
• Negative pregnancy test
• Fertile patients must use effective contraception
• No active infection
• No severe malnutrition or intractable emesis
• No chronic diarrheal disease within the past 6 months

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

Biologic therapy:

• Not specified

Chemotherapy:

• See Disease Characteristics
• No more than 1 prior chemotherapy regimen
• At least 3 weeks since prior chemotherapy (6 weeks for nitrosoureas or mitomycin) and recovered
• Prior gemcitabine or flavopiridol allowed
• No other concurrent chemotherapy

Endocrine therapy:

• Not specified

Radiotherapy:

• At least 3 weeks since prior radiotherapy and recovered
• No prior radiotherapy to more than 50% of bone marrow
• No concurrent radiotherapy

Surgery:

• Not specified