Irinotecan and Cyclosporine in Treating Patients With Metastatic, Advanced or Locally Recurrent Colorectal Cancer

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Cyclosporine may relieve the diarrhea caused by irinotecan. PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of irinotecan and cyclosporine in treating patients who have metastatic, advanced, or locally recurrent colorectal cancer that has not responded to fluorouracil.