Cixutumumab in Treating Patients With Metastatic Melanoma of the Eye

Inclusion Criteria: * Patients must have a history of uveal melanoma and documented metastatic disease * Patients must have at least one unidimensionally measurable lesion; if this is a cutaneous lesion it must be at least 10 mm by caliper measure; if it is a visceral or nodal or soft tissue lesion, it must be clearly measurable \> 20 mm with conventional techniques or \> 10 mm with spiral CT scan; bone lesions are not considered measurable * One prior systemic chemotherapy and any number of immunotherapies or vaccine therapies are allowed; prior treatment with hepatic arterial chemotherapy infusion or perfusion or chemoembolization of liver metastasis is allowed; prior treatment with radiation therapy is allowed but not more than 3000 cGy to fields including substantial marrow; patients are not required to have had prior therapy * At least 6 weeks (42 days) since any prior immunotherapy, cytokine, biologic, vaccine or other therapy unless patients have progressed during therapy; if progression occurred during therapy, patient must have recovered from any side effects * At least 4 weeks (28 days) since prior radiotherapy and prior adjuvant chemotherapy * Patients must have Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 0 - 2 * Patients must have a life expectancy of at least 3 months * Leukocytes \> 3,000/mm3 * Absolute neutrophil count ≥ 1,500/mm3 * Hemoglobin ≥ 9.0 g/dL * Platelets ≥ 100,000/mm3 * Aspartate transaminase-alanine transaminase ratio (AST(SGOT)/ALT(SGPT)) ≤ 3 times institutional upper limit of normal (ULN); ≤ 5 times institutional ULN if liver metastases present * Total bilirubin \< 1.5 times institutional ULN * Creatinine \< 1.5 times institutional ULN OR creatinine clearance ≥ 60 mL/min/1.73 m2 for patients with creatinine levels above institutional normal * Fasting serum glucose \< 120 mg/dL or \< institutional ULN * Patients must have no angina at rest * The effects of IMC-A12 on the developing human fetus at the recommended therapeutic dose are unknown; for this reason and because monoclonal antibodies could be teratogenic, 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 and for 3 months after the last dose of IMC-A12; should a woman become pregnant or suspect she is pregnant while participating in this study, she should inform her treating physician immediately * Both men and women and members of all races and ethnic groups are eligible for this trial * Patients must have the ability to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent form indicating that they are aware of the investigational nature of this study and in keeping with the policies of the institution Exclusion Criteria: * Patients whose site of primary melanoma is not uveal * Patients who have a current history of neoplasm other than the entry diagnosis except for curatively treated non-melanoma skin cancer or carcinoma in situ of the cervix or other cancers treated for cure and with a disease-free survival longer than 5 years * Patients with symptomatic central nervous system metastasis including those with central nervous system (CNS) metastasis who require oral steroids for cerebral edema or have progression on CT/MRI * Patients who are pregnant or nursing and patients who are not practicing an acceptable method of birth control; patients may not breast-feed while on this study; pregnant women are excluded from this study because IMC-A12 is a monoclonal antibody with the potential for teratogenic or abortifacient effects; because there is an unknown but potential risk for adverse events in nursing infants secondary to treatment of the mother with IMC-A12, breastfeeding women are excluded * Patients with current active infections requiring anti-infectious treatment (e.g., antibiotics, antivirals, or antifungals) * Patients with poorly controlled diabetes mellitus; patients with a history of diabetes mellitus are allowed to participate, provided that their blood glucose is within normal range (fasting \< 120 mg/dL or below institutional ULN) and that they are on a stable dietary or therapeutic regimen for this condition * Patients with unstable or serious concurrent medical conditions are excluded; examples include, but are not limited to, uncontrolled ventricular arrhythmia, recent (within 3 months) myocardial infarction, uncontrolled major seizure disorder, spinal cord compression, superior vena cava syndrome, or any psychiatric disorder that prohibits obtaining informed consent * Patients with one or more of the following as the only manifestations of disease are ineligible: leptomeningeal disease, ascites, pleural/pericardial effusions, carcinomatous lymphangitis * Patients with Gilbert's Syndrome * Patients must not have had major surgery within the past 14 days * Patients must not receive any concurrent chemotherapy or immunotherapy while on study; only palliative radiotherapy is permitted to symptomatic lesions in which event the irradiated lesions may not be considered target or non-target lesions for response; palliative radiation immediately before or during the study is acceptable provided there is evaluable disease that has been radiated; palliative radiation is acceptable provided that the irradiated lesions are not used to determine response assessment * HIV-positive patients with an absolute CD4 count \< 300 K/uL * Patients may not be receiving any other investigational agents * Patients with a history of treatment with other agents targeting the insulin-like growth factor pathway * Patients with a history of allergic reactions attributed to compounds of similar chemical or biologic composition to IMC-A12