Vaccine Therapy With or Without Interleukin-2 in Treating Patients With Metastatic Melanoma That Has Not Responded to Previous Treatment

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Diagnosis of metastatic melanoma
• Refractory to standard therapy
• No resectable locoregional disease
• HLA-A0201 positive
• Measurable disease
• Previously resected brain metastases, brain metastases stable after prior radiosurgery, or brain metastases less than 1 cm and without edema allowed

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Age:

• 16 and over

Performance status:

• ECOG 0-2

Life expectancy:

• More than 3 months

Hematopoietic:

• WBC at least 3,000/mm^3
• Platelet count at least 90,000/mm^3
• No coagulation disorders

Hepatic:

• Bilirubin no greater than 2.0 mg/dL (3.0 mg/dL for patients with Gilbert's syndrome)
• AST/ALT less than 3 times normal
• Hepatitis B surface antigen negative

Renal:

• Creatinine no greater than 2.0 mg/dL

Cardiovascular:

• No major medical illness of the cardiovascular system
• No cardiac ischemia*
• No myocardial infarction*
• No cardiac arrhythmias* NOTE: * For interleukin-2 (IL-2) administration

Pulmonary:

• No major medical illness of the respiratory system
• No obstructive or restrictive pulmonary disease (for IL-2 administration)

Immunologic:

• HIV negative
• No primary or secondary immunodeficiency
• No known immunodeficiency disease
• No autoimmune disease
• No active systemic infections

Other:

• Not pregnant
• Negative pregnancy test
• Fertile patients must use effective contraception

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

Biologic therapy:

• At least 3 weeks since prior biologic therapy for melanoma
• No prior immunization to tyrosinase-related protein-2 antigen
• No other concurrent biologic therapy for melanoma

Chemotherapy:

• At least 3 weeks since prior chemotherapy for melanoma and recovered
• No concurrent chemotherapy for melanoma

Endocrine therapy:

• At least 3 weeks since prior endocrine therapy for melanoma
• No concurrent systemic steroid therapy
• No concurrent endocrine therapy for melanoma

Radiotherapy:

• See Disease Characteristics
• At least 3 weeks since prior radiotherapy for melanoma and recovered
• No concurrent radiotherapy for melanoma

Surgery:

• See Disease Characteristics

Other:

• No other concurrent therapy for melanoma