Vaccine Therapy in Treating Patients With Metastatic Melanoma

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

Diagnosis of melanoma

Metastatic disease

The following melanoma subtypes are eligible:

Unresectable, stage III-IV uveal melanoma
Metastatic mucosal melanoma
Measurable disease after attempted curative surgical therapy

Tumor tissue must be available for immunohistochemical staining

Positive for ≥ 1 of the following peptides:

MART-1: 26-35 (27L)
gp100: 209-217 (210M)
Tyrosinase: 368-376 (370D)
HLA-A *0201 positive by DNA polymerase chain reaction assay

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

ECOG performance status (PS) 0-1 OR Karnofsky PS 70-100%
Creatinine ≤ 2.0 mg/dL
Bilirubin ≤ 2.0 mg/dL
WBC ≥ 3,000/mm^3
Platelet count ≥ 75,000/mm^3
Hemoglobin ≥ 9.0 g/dL
No major systemic infections
No coagulation disorders
No major medical illness of the cardiovascular or respiratory system
No myocardial infarction within the past 6 months
Not pregnant or nursing
Negative pregnancy test
Fertile patients must use effective contraception
No known HIV positivity
No know positivity for hepatitis B surface antigen or hepatitis C antibody
No prior uveitis or autoimmune inflammatory eye disease
No other prior malignancy except cervical carcinoma in situ or basal cell skin cancer unless patient was curatively treated > 5 years ago and has no detectable disease

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

See Disease Characteristics
No more than 1 prior cytotoxic chemotherapy agent or regimen
Prior biologic or antiangiogenic therapies allowed
More than 1 month since prior and no concurrent radiotherapy, chemotherapy, adjuvant therapy, or any other therapy for melanoma
No prior MART-1: 26-35 (27L), gp100: 209-217 (210M), or tyrosinase: 368-376 (370D) peptides
No concurrent steroid therapy