Vaccine Therapy With High-Dose Interleukin-2 in Treating Patients With Metastatic Melanoma

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

Histologically confirmed clearly progressive metastatic or unresectable melanoma
Must be HLA-A2.1 positive
Measurable disease

No active brain metastases, leptomeningeal disease, or seizure disorder

More than 4 months since prior definitive therapy (surgery or radiotherapy) for brain metastases and must not have evidence of disease on brain CT scan or MRI
No ascites or pleural effusions

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Age:

18 and over

Performance status:

ECOG 0-1 OR
Karnofsky 80-100%

Life expectancy:

Not specified

Hematopoietic:

WBC at least 3,500/mm^3
Platelet count at least 100,000/mm^3
Hemoglobin at least 9 g/dL

Hepatic:

Bilirubin no greater than 2.0 mg/dL

Renal:

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

Cardiovascular:

No congestive heart failure
No symptoms of coronary artery disease
No serious cardiac arrhythmias
No evidence of prior myocardial infarction on EKG
Normal cardiac stress test required for all patients over 40 years

Pulmonary:

FEV_1 greater than 2.0 liters or at least 75% of predicted
No chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Other:

HIV negative
No significant systemic infection
No contraindication to use of pressor agents
No history of major psychiatric illness
No other major illness that would significantly increase the risk of immunotherapy
No other active malignancy except surgically cured nonmelanoma skin cancer or carcinoma in situ or stage I carcinoma of the cervix
Not pregnant or nursing
Negative pregnancy test
Fertile patients must use effective contraception

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

Biologic therapy:

No prior interleukin-2
At least 4 weeks since prior vaccine therapy or other cytokine therapy

Chemotherapy:

One prior chemotherapy regimen allowed
At least 4 weeks since prior chemotherapy (6 weeks for carmustine or lomustine) and recovered

Endocrine therapy:

No concurrent steroids

Radiotherapy:

See Disease Characteristics
No prior radiotherapy to areas of measurable disease unless there has been clearly progressive disease in this site or there is measurable disease outside of areas of prior radiation
At least 2 weeks since prior radiotherapy for local control or palliative therapy and recovered

Surgery:

See Disease Characteristics
Recovered from prior major surgery
No prior organ allografts

Other:

No antihypertensive therapy within 24 hours prior to interleukin-2