Vaccine Therapy in Treating Patients With HER2/Neu Positive or Negative Stage IV Breast Cancer or Other HER2/Neu Positive Cancers

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

Histologically confirmed breast cancer meeting 1 of the following criteria:

Recurrent and/or metastatic lesions that are HER2/neu-positive or negative
Recurrent or progressive cancer of the lung, ovary, pancreas, prostate, bladder, or other primary site associated with HER2/neu-positive tumor by histochemistry
Bone-only metastatic breast cancer, cytologically confirmed malignant effusions, histologically confirmed marrow involvement, or other evaluable (but non-measurable) metastatic disease allowed
Failed prior first-line chemotherapy (e.g., anthracycline- or taxane-based therapy) with or without adjuvant chemotherapy or hormonal therapy
No curative or reliably effective palliative surgery, radiotherapy, or medical therapy available

Stable brain metastases allowed provided the following criteria are met*:

Previously treated
No concurrent requirement for corticosteroids
No radiological or clinical deterioration within the past 6 weeks NOTE: *Patients who had recent treatment with gamma knife or intensity-modulated radiotherapy for brain metastases are eligible provided there has been recovery from known or anticipated toxic effects
Patients with no HLA-A2 allele are eligible

Hormone receptor status:

Not specified

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Age

18 and over

Sex

Female or male

Menopausal status

Not specified

Performance status

ECOG 0-2

Life expectancy

At least 4 months

Hematopoietic

Absolute granulocyte count ≥ 1,000/mm^3
Platelet count ≥ 100,000/mm^3

Hepatic

Bilirubin ≤ 2 mg/dL
Alkaline phosphatase ≤ 5 times upper limit of normal (ULN)
ALT and AST ≤ 2 times ULN

Renal

BUN ≤ 30 mg/dL
Creatinine ≤ 2 mg/dL
≤ 1 g protein on 24-hour urine collection OR
≤ 1+ proteinuria on urinalysis

Cardiovascular

Hypertension controlled by agents (except beta-blockers) allowed

Other

Not pregnant or nursing
Negative pregnancy test
Fertile patients must use effective contraception
HIV negative
No history of anaphylactic reaction to any known or unknown antigen
No history of clinical hypersensitivity to sargramostim (GM-CSF), interferon, yeast, beef, or to any components used in preparation of study vaccine
No clinical or laboratory features indicative of AIDS
No rheumatological, psychiatric, or other clinically progressive major medical problems requiring treatment
No other malignancy within the past 2 years

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

Biologic therapy

More than 3 weeks since prior biological therapy, including trastuzumab (Herceptin^®)
More than 3 weeks since prior immunotherapy
No concurrent immunotherapy

Chemotherapy

See Disease Characteristics
More than 3 weeks since prior chemotherapy (8 weeks for nitrosoureas or mitomycin)
No concurrent chemotherapy

Endocrine therapy

See Disease Characteristics
More than 3 weeks since prior hormonal therapy
No concurrent hormonal therapy

No concurrent systemic steroids

Concurrent inhalation steroids for respiratory hypersensitivity (e.g., triamcinolone nasal or pulmonary inhalers) allowed

Radiotherapy

See Disease Characteristics
More than 3 weeks since prior radiotherapy
No concurrent radiotherapy

Surgery

More than 3 weeks since prior major surgery with general anesthesia
No concurrent major surgery

Other

Recovered from prior therapy
Patients receiving pamidronate, bisphosphonates, or other supportive measures must continue therapy during study participation
No concurrent anticoagulants
No concurrent beta-blockers for control of mild hypertension or other indications