Inclusion Criteria:

* Patients must have histologically or cytologically confirmed endometrial cancer; adenocarcinoma (endometrioid and serous/papillary serous) and carcinosarcoma (ie. malignant mixed Mullerian tumor \[MMMT\]) of the uterus will be investigated; patients with other histologies (eg. squamous cell carcinoma or leiomyosarcoma) are excluded
* Patients must have measurable disease, defined as at least one lesion that can be accurately measured in at least one dimension (longest diameter to be recorded) as \>= 20 mm with conventional techniques or as \>= 10 mm with spiral computed tomography (CT) scan; indicator lesions must not have been previously treated with surgery, radiotherapy, or radiofrequency ablation
* Previously treated patients must have evidence of progressive disease, either clinically or radiographically, as assessed by the investigator
* Eligible patients may have received no more than one prior cytotoxic chemotherapy regimen for recurrent, locally-advanced, or metastatic disease; if the prior chemotherapy was an anthracycline, they may have received no more than 6 cycles (or less than 450 mg/m\^2 doxorubicin); patients must have completed any previous chemotherapy a minimum of 4 weeks (or 6 weeks if the regimen contained carmustine \[BCNU\] or mitomycin) prior to study registration; prior investigational treatment is permissible (as long as such treatment completed 4 weeks prior to registration)
* Life expectancy of greater than 3 months
* Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status =\< 2 (Karnofsky \>= 60)
* Leukocytes \>= 3,000/mcL
* Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) \>= 1,500/mcL
* Platelets \>= 100,000/mcL
* Hemoglobin \>= 100 g/dL
* Serum calcium =\< 12.0 mg/dL (=\< 3.0 mmol/L)
* Total serum bilirubin within normal institutional limits
* Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase \[SGOT\]) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase \[SGPT\]) =\< 2.5 X institutional upper limit of normal
* Creatinine within normal institutional limits OR creatinine clearance \>= 60 mL/min/1.73 m\^2 for patients with creatinine levels above institutional normal
* Serum lipase =\< 1.5 x institutional upper limit of normal
* Serum amylase =\< 1.5 x institutional upper limit of normal
* Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH)/T3/T4 within normal institutional limits
* Magnesium \>= 0.5 mmol/L
* Patients must have corrected QT interval (QTc) \< 500 msec
* The following group of patients are eligible provided they have normal baseline cardiac function (as determined by estimate of left ventricular ejection fraction \[LVEF\] on echocardiogram or multi-gated acquisition scan \[MUGA\]):

* Those with a history of congestive heart failure, provided they are no greater than New York Heart Association (NYHA) class I and on treatment at baseline
* Those with prior anthracycline exposure
* Those who have received prior central thoracic radiation that included the heart in the radiotherapy port
* Women of childbearing 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; all women of childbearing potential must have a negative pregnancy test prior to receiving sunitinib; should a woman become pregnant or suspect she is pregnant while participating in this study, she should inform her treating physician immediately
* Ability to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent document

Exclusion Criteria:

* Patients who have had chemotherapy or radiotherapy within 4 weeks (6 weeks for nitrosoureas or mitomycin C) prior to entering the study or those who have not recovered from adverse events due to agents administered more than 4 weeks earlier; at least 4 weeks must have elapsed since any major surgery
* Patients may not be receiving any other investigational agents
* Patients who have received prior treatment with any other antiangiogenic agent (e.g., bevacizumab, sorafenib, pazopanib, AZD2171, PTK787, vascular endothelial growth factor \[VEGF\] Trap, etc.) are ineligible
* History of allergic reactions attributed to compounds of similar chemical or biologic composition to sunitinib
* Patients who have a history of serious ventricular arrhythmias (ventricular tachycardia \[VT\] or ventricular fibrillation \[VF\] equal to or greater than 3 beats in a row), QTc prolongation (defined as a QTc interval equal to or greater than 500 msec) or other significant electrocardiogram (ECG) abnormalities are excluded
* Patients with poorly controlled hypertension (systolic blood pressure of 140 mmHg or higher or diastolic blood pressure of 90 mmHg or higher) are ineligible
* Patients who require use of therapeutic doses of coumarin-derivative anticoagulants such as warfarin are excluded, although doses of up to 2 mg daily are permitted for prophylaxis of thrombosis; Note: Low molecular weight heparin is permitted provided the patient's prothrombin time (PT) international normalized ratio (INR) is =\< 1.5
* Patients with any condition (e.g., gastrointestinal tract disease resulting in an inability to take oral medication or a requirement for intravenous \[IV\] alimentation, prior surgical procedures affecting absorption, or active peptic ulcer disease) that impairs their ability to swallow and retain sunitinib tablets are excluded
* Patients with any of the following conditions are excluded:

* Serious or non-healing wound, ulcer, or bone fracture
* History of abdominal fistula, gastrointestinal perforation, or intra-abdominal abscess within 28 days of treatment
* Any history of cerebrovascular accident (CVA) or transient ischemic attack within 12 months prior to study entry
* History of myocardial infarction, cardiac arrhythmia, stable/unstable angina, symptomatic congestive heart failure, or coronary/peripheral artery bypass graft or stenting within 12 months prior to study entry
* History of pulmonary embolism within the past 12 months
* Class III or IV heart failure as defined by the NYHA functional classification system
* Pre-existing adrenal insufficiency (primary or secondary)
* The eligibility of patients taking medications that are potent inducers or inhibitors of cytochrome P450, family 3, subfamily A, polypeptide 4 (CYP3A4) will be determined following a review of their case by the Principal Investigator; every effort should be made to switch patients taking such agents or substances to other medications, particularly patients who are taking enzyme-inducing anticonvulsant agents
* Patients with a pre-existing thyroid abnormality who are unable to maintain thyroid function in the normal range with medication are ineligible
* Patients with known brain metastases should be excluded
* Patients with uncontrolled intercurrent illness including, but not limited to, ongoing or active infections or psychiatric illness/social situations that would limit compliance with study requirements are ineligible
* Pregnant women are excluded from this study; breastfeeding should be discontinued if the mother is treated with sunitinib malate
* Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive patients on combination antiretroviral therapy are ineligible