DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Histologically confirmed renal cell cancer

  • Metastatic disease

• Measurable or evaluable disease

  • Measurable disease required for phase II
• No untreated CNS metastasis or CNS metastases progressing ≤ 4 weeks after prior radiotherapy

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Age

• 18 and over

Performance status

• ECOG 0-1

Life expectancy

• At least 12 weeks

Hematopoietic

• Absolute neutrophil count ≥ 1,500/mm^3
• Platelet count ≥ 100,000/mm^3
• Hemoglobin ≥ 9.0 g/dL

Hepatic

• AST ≤ 2.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN)
• Alkaline phosphatase ≤ 5 times ULN
• Bilirubin ≤ 1.5 mg/dL

Renal

• Creatinine ≤ 1.8 mg/dL
• Calcium ≤ ULN
• No untreated hypercalcemia

Cardiovascular

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

Other

• Not pregnant or nursing
• Negative pregnancy test
• Fertile patients must be surgically sterile or use effective contraception
• No uncontrolled diabetes mellitus
• No known severe hypersensitivity to suramin
• No other concurrent uncontrolled illness
• No active or ongoing infection
• No active autoimmune disease
• No neuropathy ≥ grade 2
• No psychiatric illness or social situation that would preclude study compliance
• No other malignancy within the past 5 years except basal cell skin cancer, carcinoma in situ of the cervix, or localized prostate cancer

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

Biologic therapy

• No concurrent filgrastim (G-CSF)

Chemotherapy

• No more than 2 prior chemotherapy regimens for renal cell cancer (phase II only)

Endocrine therapy

• No concurrent corticosteroid dose more than physiologic replacement levels

Radiotherapy

• See Disease Characteristics
• At least 4 weeks since prior radiotherapy
• No concurrent radiotherapy

Surgery

• Recovered from prior oncologic or other major surgery
• At least 4 weeks since prior major surgery
• No concurrent surgery

Other

• Recovered from all prior anticancer therapy other than alopecia (chronic toxicity < grade 2)
• At least 4 weeks since prior systemic therapy
• More than 30 days since prior investigational drugs
• Concurrent bisphosphonates allowed