OBJECTIVES:~Determine the effectiveness of imatinib mesylate in patients with recurrent Ewing's family of tumors or desmoplastic small round-cell tumor.~Determine the toxic effects of this drug in these patients.~Determine the duration of disease-free and overall survival of patients treated with this drug.~OUTLINE: This is an open-label study.~Patients receive oral imatinib mesylate twice daily on days 1-28. Courses repeat every 28 days.~PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 20-40 patients will be accrued for this study.
RATIONALE: Imatinib mesylate may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking the enzymes necessary for tumor cell growth.~PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying how well imatinib mesylate works in treating patients with recurrent Ewing's family of tumors or desmoplastic small round-cell tumor.