Erlotinib in Treating Patients With Locally Advanced or Metastatic Papillary Renal Cell Cancer

Inclusion Criteria: * Patients must have histologically or cytologically confirmed papillary histology renal cell carcinoma which is metastatic (M1); patients with unresectable primary tumor (but M0) are also eligible; patients who have undergone a prior nephrectomy should have histologic confirmation of the metastatic nature of at least one distant site of disease * Patients must have available and be willing to submit representative slides for central pathology review; these must be sent within 28 days of registration; failure to submit these materials will make the patient ineligible for this study * Patients must have measurable disease, defined as at least one lesion that can be accurately measured in at least one dimension; soft tissue disease that has been radiated in the 2 months prior to registration is not assessable as measurable disease; soft tissue disease within a prior radiation field that was radiated greater than 2 months prior to registration must have progressed to be considered assessable, and patients also must have measurable disease outside of the irradiated field; X-rays, scans or physical examinations used for tumor measurement must have been completed within 28 days prior to registration; X-rays, scans or physical examinations for non-measurable disease must have been completed within 42 days prior to registration * Patients with metastatic disease who have a resectable primary tumor and are deemed a surgical candidate may have undergone resection a…