Vaccine Therapy Plus Interleukin-2 in Treating Women With Stage IV, Recurrent, or Progressive Breast or Ovarian Cancer

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

* Histologically proven adenocarcinoma of the breast or ovary
* Stage IV, recurrent, or progressive disease with no chemotherapy or radiotherapy options available that would increase survival
* Tumor tissue available for determination of p53 protein expression and genetic mutation

  * p53-positive tumor by immunohistochemical analysis
* HLA-A2.1 positive
* No prior CNS metastases
* Hormone receptor status:

  * Not specified

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Age:

* 18 and over

Sex:

* Female

Menopausal status:

* Not specified

Performance status:

* ECOG 0 or 1

Life expectancy:

* More than 3 months

Hematopoietic:

* Platelet count at least 100,000/mm\^3

Hepatic:

* Bilirubin no greater than 2.0 mg/dL
* SGOT or SGPT no greater than 4 times normal
* Hepatitis B surface antigen negative
* Hepatitis C antibody negative

Renal:

* Creatinine no greater than 2.0 mg/dL

Cardiovascular:

* No New York Heart Association class III or IV heart disease
* No myocardial infarction within past 6 months
* No prior congestive heart failure
* No prior ventricular arrhythmias or other arrhythmias requiring therapy

Immunologic:

* Must have positive intradermal delayed hypersensitivity test for 1 of the following:

  * Mumps
  * Trichophyton
  * Tetanus
  * Candida
  * PPD
* No underlying immune deficiency
* No prior autoimmune disease including, but not limited to, the following:

  * Autoimmune neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, or hemolytic anemia
  * Systemic lupus erythematosus, Sjögren's syndrome, or scleroderma
  * Myasthenia gravis
  * Goodpasture's syndrome
  * Addison's disease
  * Hashimoto's thyroiditis
  * Active Graves' disease
* No active infection requiring antibiotics
* HIV negative

Other:

* Not pregnant or nursing
* Negative pregnancy test
* Fertile patients must use effective contraception
* No other active malignancy within the past 2 years except curatively treated carcinoma in situ of the cervix or basal cell skin cancer

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

Biologic therapy:

* At least 4 weeks since prior immunotherapy and recovered
* At least 1 year since prior bone marrow transplantation

Chemotherapy:

* At least 4 weeks since prior chemotherapy and recovered

Endocrine therapy:

* Prior anticancer hormonal therapy allowed
* At least 4 weeks since prior systemic steroids and recovered

Radiotherapy:

* At least 4 weeks since prior radiotherapy and recovered

Surgery:

* Not specified

Other:

* Chronic suppressive antibiotics allowed