Interferon Alfa With or Without Combination Chemotherapy Plus Interleukin-2 in Treating Patients With Melanoma

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

* Histologically diagnosed malignant melanoma with regional lymph node metastases
* Undergone complete lymph node dissection and free of any residual tumor
* No greater than 90 days from diagnosis of regional lymph nodes metastases
* No distant or resected in-transit metastases

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Age:

* 10 to 66
* 66 to 70 if in excellent physical condition

Performance status:

* 0-2

Life expectancy:

* At least 12 months

Hematopoietic:

* Hemoglobin greater than 10 g/dL
* WBC greater than 3,000/mm\^3
* Platelet count greater than 100,000/mm\^3

Hepatic:

* Bilirubin no greater than 1.2 mg/dL

Renal:

* Creatinine no greater than 1.5 mg/dL

Other:

* No serious intercurrent illness that would compromise tolerance of therapy and long term survival
* Must be able to participate in follow up for minimum of 5 years
* No second malignancy except:

  * In situ cervical cancer
  * Basal or squamous skin cancer
* Must be able to physically and emotionally tolerate biochemotherapy
* No history of pulmonary or cardiac dysfunction, e.g., cardiac rhythm disturbance, congestive heart failure, coronary bypass, or impaired cardiac ejection fraction

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

Biologic therapy:

* No prior immunotherapy with interferon or IL-2
* No concurrent immunomodulators

Chemotherapy:

* No prior chemotherapy

Endocrine therapy:

* No concurrent steroids

Radiotherapy:

* Prior adjuvant local radiotherapy allowed for head and neck

Surgery:

* No greater than 8 weeks after definitive surgery for lymph node metastases

Other:

* No concurrent nonsteroid anti-inflammatory drugs, or other prostaglandin synthetase inhibitors