Vaccine Therapy With or Without Interleukin-2 in Treating Patients With Metastatic Melanoma

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

* Histologically proven metastatic melanoma that has failed standard treatment
* Measurable disease
* HLA-A-201 positive

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Age:

* 16 and over

Performance status:

* ECOG 0-2

Life expectancy:

* More than 3 months

Hematopoietic:

* WBC ≥ 3,000/mm\^3
* Platelet count ≥ 90,000/mm\^3
* No coagulation disorders

Hepatic:

* Bilirubin ≤ 1.6 mg/dL (less than 3.0 mg/dL for patients with Gilbert's syndrome)
* AST/ALT \< 2 times normal
* Hepatitis B surface antigen negative

Renal:

* Creatinine ≤ 2.0 mg/dL

Cardiovascular:

* No major cardiovascular disease
* No cardiac ischemia by a stress thallium test or other comparable test\*
* No myocardial infarction\*
* No cardiac arrhythmias\* NOTE: \*In order to be eligible to receive interleukin-2 (IL-2)

Pulmonary:

* No major respiratory disease
* No obstructive or restrictive pulmonary disease\* NOTE: \*In order to be eligible to receive IL-2

Immunologic:

* No autoimmune disease
* No known immunodeficiency disease
* No primary or secondary immunodeficiency
* No allergy to eggs
* No active systemic infections
* HIV negative

Other:

* Not pregnant
* Negative pregnancy test
* Fertile patients must use effective contraception
* No other active major medical illness\* NOTE: \*In order to be eligible to receive IL-2

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

Biologic therapy:

* No prior gp100 vaccination

Chemotherapy:

* Not specified

Endocrine therapy:

* No concurrent steroids

Radiotherapy:

* Not specified

Surgery:

* Prior surgery for the malignancy allowed

Other:

* At least 3 weeks since other prior therapy for the malignancy