DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Histologically or cytologically confirmed solid tumor that is unresponsive to currently available therapies or for which no known effective treatment exists
• Measurable or evaluable disease
• Must have clinical or radiological evidence of disease
• Disease must be accessible to biopsy and imaging studies
• No known brain metastases

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Age

• 18 and over

Performance status

• ECOG 0-2

Life expectancy

• At least 3 months

Hematopoietic

• Absolute neutrophil count at least 2,000/mm^3
• Platelet count at least 100,000/mm^3
• No prior bleeding disorder

Hepatic

• Bilirubin no greater than 1.2 mg/dL
• ALT and AST no greater than 2.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN)
• PT/PTT no greater than ULN

Renal

• Creatinine less than 1.5 mg/dL OR
• Creatinine clearance at least 60 mL/min

Cardiovascular

• No symptomatic congestive heart failure
• No unstable angina pectoris
• No cardiac arrhythmia

Other

• Not pregnant or nursing
• Negative pregnancy test
• Fertile patients must use effective contraception during and for 6 months after study
• Willing to be premedicated for delayed contrast-enhanced MRI
• No prior claustrophobia
• No dementia or altered mental status that would preclude informed consent
• No other uncontrolled concurrent illness
• No ongoing or active infection
• No psychiatric illness or social situations that would preclude study compliance
• No immunodeficiency
• HIV negative
• Must be willing to receive blood products
• No thyroid disease
• Thyroxine and thyroid-stimulating hormone no greater than ULN

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

Biologic therapy

• At least 4 weeks since prior immunotherapy

Chemotherapy

• At least 4 weeks since prior chemotherapy (6 weeks for nitrosoureas or mitomycin) and recovered
• Prior taxanes allowed
• No concurrent chemotherapy

Endocrine therapy

• No concurrent hormonal therapy except:
• Concurrent hormonal replacement therapy
• Concurrent medication for maintaining castrate status in patients with progressive hormone refractory prostate cancer

Radiotherapy

• At least 4 weeks since prior radiotherapy and recovered
• No prior radiotherapy to more than 25% of the bone marrow
• No concurrent radiotherapy

Surgery

• More than 4 weeks since prior surgery

Other

• No other concurrent investigational or commercial agents or therapies for the malignancy
• No other concurrent antitumor therapy