Sunitinib Malate in Treating Patients With Unresectable or Metastatic Kidney Cancer or Other Advanced Solid Tumors

Inclusion Criteria: * Patients must have histologically or cytologically confirmed renal cell cancer; or other solid malignancy (excluding lymphoma) that is metastatic or unresectable and for which no standard curative therapy exists * For the renal cell cancer subset, a component of clear cell histology is required * Measurable disease, defined as \>= 1 unidimensionally measurable lesion \>= 20 mm by conventional techniques or \>= 10 mm by spiral CT scan * Life expectancy \> 12 weeks * Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status 0-2 * Leukocytes \>= 3,000/mm\^3 * Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) \>= 1,500/mm\^3 * Platelet count \>= 100,000/mm\^3 * Hemoglobin \>= 9 g/dL * Serum calcium =\< 12.0 mg/dL * Total bilirubin normal * Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (serum glutamic oxalo-acetic transaminase \[SGOT\]) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase \[SGPT\]) =\< 2.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN), unless subjects have liver metastases, in which case both AST and ALT must be =\< 5 x ULN * Creatinine =\< 2 times ULN OR creatinine clearance \>= 40 mL/min for patients with creatinine levels above 2 x institutional normal * All patients need to be willing to undergo planned pharmacodynamic assessments, including serial PET imaging, plasma markers, and pharmacokinetic sampling * Women of childbearing 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 * Ability to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent document Exclusion Criteria: * Patients who have had chemotherapy, radiotherapy, experimental therapy or major surgery within 4 weeks (6 weeks for nitrosoureas or mitomycin C) prior to entering the study or those who have not recovered (to grade \< 1 or baseline) from clinically significant adverse events due to agents administered more than 4 weeks earlier (alopecia and fatigue excluded); clinical significance to be determined by investigator * Patients may not be receiving any other investigational agents * No prior treatment with an anti-VEGF agent allowed * History of allergic reactions attributed to compounds of similar chemical or biologic composition to sunitinib malate * Patients with QTc prolongation (defined as a QTc interval greater than 500 msec) or other significant electrocardiogram (ECG) abnormalities (per investigator discretion) are excluded * Patients with poorly controlled hypertension (systolic blood pressure of 140 mm Hg or higher or diastolic blood pressure of 90 mm Hg or higher) are ineligible * Patients with any condition (e.g., gastrointestinal tract disease resulting in an inability to take oral medication or a requirement for IV alimentation, prior surgical procedures affecting absorption, or active peptic ulcer disease) that impairs their ability to swallow and retain sunitinib tablets are excluded * Patients with any of the following conditions are excluded: * Serious or nonhealing wound, ulcer, or bone fracture * Abdominal fistula, gastrointestinal (GI) perforation, or intra-abdominal abscess within the past 28 days * Cerebrovascular accident (CVA) or transient ischemic attack within 12 months prior to study entry * History of myocardial infarction, cardiac arrhythmia, stable/unstable angina, symptomatic congestive heart failure, or coronary/peripheral artery bypass graft or stenting within the past 12 months * History of pulmonary embolism within the past 12 months * Class III or IV heart failure as defined by the New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional classification system * Patients with a pre-existing thyroid abnormality who are unable to maintain thyroid function in the normal range with medication are ineligible; patients with a history of hypothyroidism are eligible provided they are currently euthyroid * Patients with known brain metastases * Patients with uncontrolled intercurrent illness including, but not limited to, ongoing or active infections or psychiatric illness/social situations that would limit compliance with study requirements are ineligible * Pregnant or breastfeeding * No concurrent therapeutic doses of coumarin-derivative anticoagulants, such as warfarin; Concurrent doses =\< 2 mg/day allowed for prophylaxis of thrombosis, Concurrent low molecular weight heparin allowed provided prothrombin time (PT) international normalized ratio ( INR) =\< 1.5 * No concurrent agents with proarrhythmic potential (terfenadine, quinidine, procainamide, disopyramide, sotalol, probucol, bepridil, haloperidol, risperidone, indapamide, and flecainide acetate) * Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive patients on combination antiretroviral therapy are ineligible