Sunitinib Malate and Combination Chemotherapy as Front-Line Therapy in Treating Patients With Metastatic Rectal Cancer That Cannot Be Removed by Surgery

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS: * Histologically confirmed adenocarcinoma of the rectum * Lower pole of the tumor \< 12 cm from the anal margin * Synchronous metastases of the liver and/or lung * Unresectable or resectability uncertain according to the decision of a local multidisciplinary consultation * Lesions measurable in 1 dimension by RECIST criteria (metastases and primary rectal cancer) * No rectal obstruction requiring surgery or the emergency fitting of a prosthesis * No CNS metastases PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS: * WHO performance status 0-2 * ANC ≥ 1,500/mm\^3 * Platelet count ≥ 100,000/mm\^3 * Creatinine clearance ≥ 60 mL/min * Hemoglobin ≥ 10 g/dL (transfusions allowed) * FEV ≥ 50% * QT interval ≤ 450 ms (in men) or ≤ 470 ms (in women) * Total bilirubin ≤ 1.5 times upper limit of normal * Serum albumin ≥ 25 g/L * Not pregnant or nursing * Fertile patients must use effective contraception * No history of another cancer except for nonmelanoma skin cancer or curatively treated carcinoma in situ of the cervix * History of other cancers allowed provided the patient has been disease-free \> 3 years * None of the following: * Congestive heart failure or coronary heart disease * Myocardial infarction within the past year * Uncontrolled hypertension (systolic BP \> 160 mm Hg or diastolic BP \> 100 mm Hg) despite optimal medical management * No active severe rectal bleeding * No liver failure * No known Gilbert syndrome * No severe uncontrolled infection * No chro…