O6-benzylguanine and Carmustine in Treating Patients With Unresectable Locally Recurrent or Metastatic Melanoma

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

Histologically proven unresectable locally recurrent or metastatic melanoma

Chemotherapy naive with no more than 2 prior immunotherapy regimens (including cytokines, vaccines, or adjuvant interferon) OR
Prior chemotherapy failure with no more than 2 prior immunotherapy regimens (including adjuvant interferon) and no more than 1 prior chemotherapy regimen (which may include carmustine) not including antiangiogenesis therapy

Measurable disease

At least 20 mm in at least 1 dimension by conventional technique OR at least 10 mm in at least 1 dimension by spiral CT scan
No disease confined only to the CNS
No uncontrolled symptomatic brain metastases regardless of other disease sites

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Age:

18 and over

Performance status:

ECOG 0-2

Life expectancy:

At least 12 weeks

Hematopoietic:

WBC at least 3,000/mm^3
Absolute neutrophil count at least 1,200/mm^3
Platelet count at least 100,000/mm^3

Hepatic:

Bilirubin no greater than 1.5 mg/dL
AST and/or ALT no greater than 3 times upper limit of normal
PT normal

Renal:

Creatinine no greater than 1.5 mg/dL OR
Creatinine clearance greater than 60 mL/min

Pulmonary:

DLCO at least 70% predicted

Other:

Not pregnant or nursing
Negative pregnancy test
Fertile patients must use effective contraception
No concurrent significant psychiatric or medical illness, including active infections, that would interfere with study therapy or increase risk
No other malignancy within the past 5 years except curatively treated nonmelanomatous skin cancer, carcinoma in situ of the cervix, or superficial bladder cancer

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

Chemotherapy:

At least 4 weeks since prior systemic chemotherapy (at least 6 weeks since prior carmustine or mitomycin) and recovered
No other concurrent chemotherapy or investigational antineoplastic drugs

Radiotherapy:

At least 2 weeks since prior radiotherapy and recovered
No concurrent radiotherapy

Surgery:

At least 3 weeks since prior major surgery and recovered

Other:

At least 4 weeks since other prior anticancer systemic therapy and recovered