Vaccine Therapy in Treating Patients With Refractory Metastatic Melanoma

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

* Diagnosis of metastatic melanoma that expresses ESO-1 antigen
* Must have progressed during prior standard treatment
* Measurable or evaluable disease
* HLA-A\*201 or HLA-DPB1\*04 positive

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

Hepatic:

* SGOT and SGPT less than 3 times normal
* Bilirubin no greater than 1.6 mg/dL (3.0 mg/dL for patients with Gilbert's syndrome)
* Hepatitis B surface antigen negative

Renal:

* Creatinine no greater than 2.0 mg/dL

Cardiovascular:

* No cardiac ischemia\*
* No myocardial infarction\*
* No cardiac arrhythmias\* NOTE: \*For interleukin-2 (IL-2) administration

Pulmonary:

* No obstructive or restrictive pulmonary disease (for IL-2 administration)

Immunologic:

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

Other:

* Not pregnant
* Negative pregnancy test
* Fertile patients must use effective contraception
* No other active major medical illness (for IL-2 administration)

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

Biologic therapy:

* No prior ESO-1 immunization

Chemotherapy:

* Recovered from any prior chemotherapy

Endocrine therapy:

* No concurrent systemic steroid therapy

Radiotherapy:

* Recovered from any prior radiotherapy

Surgery:

* Not specified

Other:

* At least 3 weeks since any prior systemic therapy for cancer
* No other concurrent systemic therapy for cancer