Alvespimycin Hydrochloride in Treating Patients With Metastatic or Unresectable Solid Tumors

Inclusion Criteria: * Histologically confirmed solid tumor, including, but not limited to, the following: * Prostate * Breast * Ovary * Colon * Kidney * Head and neck * Stomach * Melanoma * Metastatic or unresectable disease * No standard curative or palliative therapy exists or is no longer effective * Progressive disease as indicated by the following: * Non-prostate cancer * New lesions or increase in pre-existing lesions on bone scintigraphy, CT scan, MRI, or by physical examination * No increase in biochemical markers (e.g., carcinoembryonic antigen or CA-15-3) or symptoms as sole evidence of disease progression * Prostate cancer * Must have castrate metastatic disease (i.e., disease progression after castration or treatment with a gonadotropin-releasing hormone \[GnRH\] analog) * Patients who have not undergone surgical orchiectomy must continue with medical therapy (i.e., GnRH analogs) to maintain castrate levels of serum testosterone \< 50 ng/dL * Patients who received an antiandrogen as part of first-line hormonal therapy must show disease progression after discontinuing treatment * Progressive metastatic disease on imaging studies (e.g., bone scan, CT scan, or MRI) OR metastatic disease and a rising prostate-specific antigen (PSA) allowed * Biochemical progression is defined as a minimum of 3 rising PSA values from baseline obtained at least 1 week apart OR 2 rising PSA values obtained more than 1 month apart, with \>= 25% increase in value * No active brain metastases * Hormone receptor status: * Not specified * Male or female * Performance status - Karnofsky 70-100% * Performance status - ECOG 0-1 * More than 6 months * WBC \>= 3, 000/mm\^3 * Absolute neutrophil count \>= 1, 500/mm\^3 * Platelet count \>= 100,000/mm\^3 * Bilirubin =\< 1.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN) * AST and ALT \< 1.5 times ULN * PT normal * Creatinine =\< 1.4 mg/dL * Creatinine clearance \> 55 mL/min * QTc \< 450 msec for male patients (470 msec for female patients) * LVEF \> 40% by MUGA * No history of serious ventricular arrhythmia (i.e., ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation \>= 3 beats in a row) * No myocardial infarction within the past year * No active ischemic heart disease within the past year * No New York Heart Association class III or IV congestive heart failure * No congenital long QT syndrome * No left bundle branch block * No poorly controlled angina * No history of uncontrolled dysrhythmias or requiring antiarrhythmic drugs * Calcium blockers and beta blockers allowed * No other significant cardiac disease * Oxygen saturation \> 88% * Dyspnea \< grade 2 at rest on room air * No clinically significant pulmonary comorbidity (e.g., severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) * No requirement for supplemental oxygen * Not pregnant or nursing * Negative pregnancy test * Fertile patients must use effective contraception * No active or ongoing infection * No symptomatic peripheral neuropathy \>= grade 2 * No psychiatric illness or social situation that would preclude study compliance * No other uncontrolled illness * More than 4 weeks since prior chemotherapy (6 weeks for mitomycin and nitrosoureas) * At least 1 week since prior ketoconazole * More than 4 weeks since prior radiotherapy * Recovered from all prior therapy * More than 4 weeks since prior investigational anticancer therapeutic drugs * No concurrent combination antiretroviral therapy for HIV-positive patients * No concurrent administration of any of the following herbal remedies: * Hydrastis canadensis (goldenseal) * Hypericum perforatum (St. John's wort) * Uncaria tomentosa (cat's claw) * Echinacea angustifolia roots * Trifolium pratense (wild cherry) * Matricaria chamomilla (chamomile) * Glycyrrhiza glabra (licorice) * Dillapiol * Hypericin * Naringenin * No other concurrent investigational agents * No other concurrent anticancer agents or therapies