Rebeccamycin Analog and Oxaliplatin in Treating Patients With Refractory Solid Tumors

Inclusion Criteria: * Patients must have a histologically confirmed solid tumor that is not amenable to conventional surgical, radiation therapy or chemotherapy treatment programs * Prior chemotherapy and/or radiation are allowed; at least 4 weeks must have elapsed since prior large-field radiation therapy; patients must have been off previous anti-cancer therapy for at least 3 weeks (6 weeks for mitomycin-C and nitrosoureas); and recovered from all treatment related toxicity * ECOG performance status =\< 2 (Karnofsky \>60%) * Life expectancy of at least 12 weeks * Absolute neutrophil count \>= 1,500/ul * Platelets \>= 100,000/ul * Hemoglobin \>= 9.0 g/dl * Total bilirubin =\< 1.5 mg/dl * AST(SGOT) \< 2.5 X institutional upper limit of normal * Creatinine \< 1.5 mg/dl OR creatinine clearance \>= 60 mL/min/1.73 m\^2 for patients with creatinine levels above institutional normal * Women of child-bearing potential and men must agree to use adequate contraception (hormonal or barrier method of birth control; abstinence) prior to study entry and for the duration of study participation; should a woman become pregnant or suspect she is pregnant while participating in this study, she should inform her treating physician immediately * Ability to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent document * All patients should have a central line placed for XL119 administration Exclusion Criteria: * Patients may not be receiving any other investigational agents or have received other investigational agents for at least 4 weeks * Patients with known brain metastases should be excluded from this clinical trial * Uncontrolled intercurrent illness including, but not limited to, ongoing or active infection, symptomatic congestive heart failure, unstable angina pectoris, cardiac arrhythmia, or psychiatric illness/social situations that would limit compliance with study requirements * Pregnant and lactating women are excluded from this study * HIV-positive patients receiving combination anti-retroviral therapy are excluded from the study * NYHA classification III or IV heart disease