506U78 in Treating Patients With Recurrent or Refractory Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma or T-cell Lymphoma

Inclusion Criteria: * Patients with relapsed or refractory indolent B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma or peripheral T-cell lymphoma * Indolent B-cell lymphoma will include Waldenström's macroglobulinemia, lymphoplasmacytoid lymphoma small lymphocytic lymphoma, marginal zone lymphoma, and follicular small cleaved-cell or mixed cell lymphoma; patients with prior or concurrent evidence of transformation to large cell lymphoma or with follicular large cell lymphoma are ineligible * Peripheral T-cell lymphoma will include all entities described in the REAL classification; patients with B-cell ALCL are ineligible; patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma and all its variants and/or histologic transformation of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma are not eligible for this protocol, because they will be instead eligible for a separate protocol * Relapsed peripheral T-cell lymphomas include all those achieving and maintaining a complete or partial response during initial therapy; refractory includes those achieving all other responses during initial therapy; since the response rate of indolent B-cell lymphomas to up-front therapy exceeds 90% this distinction is not meaningful there * No more than 2 prior chemotherapy and one prior immunotherapy regimens; if chemoimmunotherapy was used, the limit will be 3 prior regimens * Performance status =\< 2 Zubrod * Staging work-up within 3 weeks and bidimensionally measurable disease * No anti-cancer treatment within the past three weeks * ANC \>= 1,000/ul; may be included if in the judgment of the study chairman lower counts are explained by marrow or splenic involvement by lymphoma * Platelets \>= 100,000/ul; may be included if in the judgment of the study chairman lower counts are explained by marrow or splenic involvement by lymphoma * Bilirubin =\< 1.5 x normal * SGPT =\< 2.5 x normal values * Estimated endogenous creatinine clearance \> 50 ml/min * HIV negative; the patients are excluded because the expected opportunistic infections will render study toxicity difficult to interpret; in addition the possible effects of 506U78 on CD4 cells may be dangerous to these patients; furthermore, indolent B-cell lymphomas and aggressive peripheral T-cell lymphomas are extremely rare in the setting of HIV infection * No active CNS disease * No other malignancy within the last 5 years, except basal cell carcinoma of the skin or in-situ cervical carcinoma treated with curative intent * Females must not be pregnant or breast feeding and must be practicing adequate contraception; this is because 506U78 may be harmful to the developing fetus and nursing newborn or infant * No preexisting sensory or motor neuropathy of grade ≥ 2, no history of seizures * No prior stem cell or bone marrow transplantation; no prior 506U78 * All patients, including women or members of a minority that fulfill criteria for study entry will be eligible for treatment; no one fulfilling all these criteria for entry will be denied treatment solely on the basis of sex or minority status * Patients with medical, psychiatric, or social conditions that make compliance with treatment or follow-up unlikely are not eligible * No history of symptomatic cardiac dysfunction or pericardial effusion