Flavopiridol in Treating Patients With Relapsed or Refractory Lymphoma or Multiple Myeloma

Inclusion Criteria: * Diagnosis of 1 of the following hematologic malignancies: * Hodgkin's lymphoma * Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) * Multiple myeloma * Patients in the phase II portion of the study are enrolled in 1 of the following strata according to diagnosis\* * Stratum 1: Indolent B-cell NHL (non-Hodgkin's lymphoma), follicle center B-cell NHL (grade 1, 2, or 3), marginal zone lymphoma, Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia, or small lymphocytic lymphoma (without blood lymphocytosis at any point in the disease process) * Must have progressive lymphadenopathy, worsening cytopenias, or progressive symptoms attributed to lymphoma * Must require therapy, as determined by progressive anemia, thrombocytopenia, symptoms (e.g., fever, night sweats, weight loss, or fatigue), or progressive lymphadenopathy that causes discomfort * Received ≥ 2 prior therapies, including rituximab * Stratum 1a: Hairy cell leukemia * Must require therapy, as determined by progressive cytopenias or symptoms (fever, night sweats, weight loss, or fatigue) * Must have received ≥ 2 therapies * Stratum 2: Mantle cell lymphoma, as determined by the presence of cyclin D1 staining OR t(11;14) * Stratum 3: Intermediate grade B-cell NHL, including diffuse large B-cell NHL and T-cell rich B-cell NHL * Diffuse large B-cell NHL arising from an indolent NHL (i.e., transformed lymphoma) allowed * Ineligible for potentially curative autologous stem cell transplantation * Stratum 4: T-cell and natural killer-cell NHL, including anaplastic large cell lymphoma and peripheral T-cell NHL * Primary cutaneous lymphoma or Sezary syndrome allowed provided criteria for measurable disease are met * Received ≥ 1 prior systemic therapy * Stratum 5: Hodgkin's lymphoma * Any of the following subtypes are allowed: * Nodular sclerosing * Mixed cellularity * Lymphocyte predominant * Lymphocyte depleted * Ineligible for potentially curative autologous stem cell transplantation * Stratum 6: Progressive stage I or stage II or IIIA multiple myeloma meeting ≥ 1 major and 1 minor criterion OR ≥ 3 minor criteria as follows: * Major criteria * Plasmacytoma on tissue biopsy * Bone marrow plasmacytosis ≥ 30% of marrow cellularity * Monoclonal paraprotein ≥ 3,500 mg/dL (IgG), or ≥ 2,000 mg/dL (IgA), OR monoclonal protein (Bence-Jones protein) ≥ 1,000 mg by 24-hour urine collection * Minor criteria * Bone marrow plasmacytosis 10-29% of marrow cellularity * Monoclonal paraprotein \< 3,500 mg/dL (IgG) or \< 2,000 mg/dL (IgA) * Lytic bone lesions by x-ray or CT scan * Decrease in normal IgM (\< 50 mg/dL), IgA (\< 100 mg/dL), or IgG (\< 600 mg/dL) * Relapsed or refractory disease * Measurable disease, defined by 1 of the following: * At least 1 node \> 2 cm by CT scan * Measurable disease in a lymphoid structure (i.e., spleen) by CT scan * Bone marrow involvement (\> 20% of marrow cellularity) * Patients with multiple myeloma must have detectable serum or urinary paraprotein * Patients with only cutaneous or subcutaneous disease (i.e., no measurable lymph node or bone marrow disease) are eligible if the extent of rash or skin involvement OR the size of the nodules are measurable * Must have received ≥ 1 prior therapy * Steroids alone are not considered prior therapy for patients with NHL or Hodgkin's lymphoma * High-dose dexamethasone is considered 1 prior therapy for patients with multiple myeloma * No standard effective therapy exists * No HIV-associated lymphoma * No nonsecretory multiple myeloma * Performance status - ECOG (Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group) 0-2 * No concurrent hormonal therapy except steroids for new adrenal failure or hormones administered for non-disease-related conditions (e.g., insulin for diabetes) * Hemoglobin ≥ 9.0 g/dL\* * Absolute neutrophil count ≥ 1,500/mm\^3\* * Platelet count ≥ 50,000/mm\^3\* * AST (aspartate aminotransferase) ≤ 3 times upper limit of normal (ULN) * Bilirubin ≤ 2 times ULN * No major renal dysfunction that would preclude study compliance or participation * Phase I: * Creatinine ≤ 1.5 mg/dL * Creatinine clearance ≥ 70 mL/min * Phase II: * Creatinine ≤ 2.0 mg/dL * Creatinine clearance ≥ 50 mL/min * No cardiac or vascular dysfunction that would preclude central venous access, vigorous hydration, or hemodialysis * No other major cardiac dysfunction that would preclude study compliance or participation * No major pulmonary dysfunction that would preclude study compliance or participation * Not pregnant or nursing * Negative pregnancy test * Fertile patients must use effective contraception * No chronic gastrointestinal disease (e.g., Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, or short gut syndrome) that would preclude study compliance or participation * No other major organ system (including neurological or psychiatric) dysfunction that would preclude study compliance or participation * Prior radiotherapy, including radioimmunotherapy, allowed * No concurrent radiotherapy * Prior idiotype vaccination or stem cell transplantation allowed * More than 6 weeks since prior mitomycin or nitrosoureas * No other concurrent chemotherapy * More than 4 weeks since other prior therapy * Prior systemic steroids allowed