Octreotide in Treating Patients With Locally Advanced or Metastatic Liver Cancer

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS: * Newly diagnosed or recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) as defined by tissue biopsy OR alpha fetoprotein (AFP) \> 1,000 ng/mL with compatible mass on CT scan or MRI * Recurrence of previously resected HCC will not require tissue confirmation if there is clear radiographic recurrence, in the judgment of the investigator * Locally advanced OR metastatic disease * Unmeasurable disease allowed if initial diagnosis was made according to the above criteria and/or recurrence has been confirmed by tissue biopsy or radiological imaging * CLIP score ≥ 3 * Not a candidate for surgical resection or liver transplant * Not a candidate for loco-regional therapy (e.g., ablation, embolization, hepatic arterial infusion therapy), but could have received such therapy in the past * No fibrolamellar HCC * No clinically apparent central nervous system metastases or carcinomatous meningitis PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS: * Life expectancy ≥ 8 weeks * Karnofsky performance status 60-100% * Hemoglobin ≥ 8.5 g/dL * Platelet count ≥ 50,000/mm³ * Total bilirubin ≤ 5.0 mg/dL * AST or ALT ≤ 5 times upper limit of normal (ULN) * Creatinine ≤ 2 times ULN * PT ≤ 28 * INR ≤ 2.5 * No active variceal bleeding within the past 3 months * No encephalopathy grade 3-4 * No ongoing ethanol or intravenous drug abuse * Not pregnant or breast feeding PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY: * See Disease Characteristics * Any number of prior therapies (e.g., chemotherapy, resection, embolization, or radiofrequency/ethanol ablation therapy) allowed * No concurrent chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or immunotherapy