Medroxyprogesterone or Interferon and/or Aldesleukin in Treating Patients With Metastatic Kidney Cancer

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Histologically confirmed metastatic renal cell adenocarcinoma, meeting 1 of the following criteria:
• More than 1 metastatic site and good performance status (Karnofsky score 80-100%)
• Sole metastatic site with Karnofsky score = 80%
• Karnofsky 90% or 100% not eligible
• No combination of several metastatic sites and liver metastases and a time interval from primary tumor to metastases of < 1 year
• Nonmeasurable disease and/or few numbers of lesions must be confirmed histologically and as progressive disease
• The following metastases are allowed:
• Lung with or without mediastinum lymph nodes
• Bone
• Pleura (solid or liquid with positive cytology)
• Thoracic lymph nodes
• Abdominal lymph nodes
• Superficial lymph nodes
• Liver
• Subcutaneous skin/tissue
• Contralateral kidney
• Nephrectomy site
• Other organs
• Prior metastases allowed provided the following criteria are met:
• Evidence of progressive disease within the past 3 months
• Metastases evaluated by noninvasive methods
• No evidence of active brain metastases
• Prior brain metastases allowed provided all of the following criteria are met:
• Disease is stable
• Reductive therapy (surgery or radiotherapy) completed at least 3 weeks prior to study entry
• Metastases have not progressed (confirmed by CT scan or MRI)
• No concurrent corticosteroids required

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

• See Disease Characteristics
• Creatinine < 1.8 mg/dL
• Hematocrit ≥ 30%
• WBC ≥ 4,000/mm^3
• Platelet count ≥ 120,000/mm^3
• Bilirubin normal
• LVEF ≥ 50%
• Not pregnant or nursing
• Negative pregnancy test
• Fertile patients must use effective contraception
• No HIV positivity
• No severe infection requiring antibiotic therapy
• No chronic hepatitis
• No severe lung, liver or kidney condition that would preclude study treatment
• No hepatitis B surface antigen positivity
• No severe neuropsychiatric condition or epilepsy
• No serious thromboembolitic disorder
• No severe cardiac dysfunction (e.g., congestive heart failure, uncontrolled hypertension, serious arrhythmia, or coronary disease)
• No other prior or concurrent primary malignancies except for basal cell skin cancer or carcinoma in situ of the cervix
• No geographical, psychological, or familial condition that would preclude study participation

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

• More than 6 weeks since prior wide-field radiotherapy
• No prior systemic chemotherapy
• No prior organ transplantation
• No prior cytokines
• No concurrent hormonal therapy
• No concurrent anticancer chemotherapy
• No concurrent corticosteroids
• No other concurrent immunotherapy
• No other concurrent investigational agents or therapies