Interleukin-12 in Treating Patients With Previously Treated Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma or Hodgkin’s Disease

Inclusion Criteria:

Previously treated non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (all histologies except lymphoblastic and Burkitt's lymphoma) or Hodgkin's disease
Maximum of 4 previous treatment regimens
Measurable disease
No CNS involvement
Performance status - Zubrod 0-1
Performance status - Karnofsky 80-100%
At least 12 weeks
Platelet count at least 75,000/mm^3
Absolute neutrophil count greater than 1500/mm^3
Lymphocyte count greater than 500/mm^3
Hemoglobin at least 8.0 g/dL
Bilirubin less than 1.5 mg/dL
SGOT/SGPT less than 2 times normal
Creatinine no greater than 1.6 mg/dL
Creatinine clearance at least 60 mL/min
No severe cardiovascular disease including active ischemic heart disease, congestive heart failure, or major arrhythmias
No severe pulmonary disease including dyspnea with moderate to severe exertion
HIV negative
No active infection
Not pregnant or nursing
Fertile patients must use adequate contraception
No clinically significant autoimmune disease (e.g. rheumatoid arthritis)
No clinically significant gastrointestinal bleeding or uncontrolled peptic ulcer
No prior allogeneic bone marrow or stem cell transplant
At least 3 weeks since prior biologic therapy for lymphoma
At least 3 weeks since prior chemotherapy for lymphoma
No concurrent steroid therapy
At least 3 weeks since prior endocrine therapy for lymphoma
At least 3 weeks since prior radiotherapy for lymphoma
At least 2 weeks since prior surgery