Vaccine Therapy With or Without Interleukin-2 in Treating Patients With Metastatic Melanoma That Has Not Responded to Previous Treatment

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

* Diagnosis of metastatic melanoma

  * Refractory to standard therapy
  * No resectable locoregional disease
* HLA-A0201 positive
* Measurable disease
* Previously resected brain metastases, brain metastases stable after prior radiosurgery, or brain metastases less than 1 cm and without edema allowed

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
* No coagulation disorders

Hepatic:

* Bilirubin no greater than 2.0 mg/dL (3.0 mg/dL for patients with Gilbert's syndrome)
* AST/ALT less than 3 times normal
* Hepatitis B surface antigen negative

Renal:

* Creatinine no greater than 2.0 mg/dL

Cardiovascular:

* No major medical illness of the cardiovascular system
* No cardiac ischemia\*
* No myocardial infarction\*
* No cardiac arrhythmias\* NOTE: \* For interleukin-2 (IL-2) administration

Pulmonary:

* No major medical illness of the respiratory system
* No obstructive or restrictive pulmonary disease (for IL-2 administration)

Immunologic:

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

Other:

* Not pregnant
* Negative pregnancy test
* Fertile patients must use effective contraception

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

Biologic therapy:

* At least 3 weeks since prior biologic therapy for melanoma
* No prior immunization to tyrosinase-related protein-2 antigen
* No other concurrent biologic therapy for melanoma

Chemotherapy:

* At least 3 weeks since prior chemotherapy for melanoma and recovered
* No concurrent chemotherapy for melanoma

Endocrine therapy:

* At least 3 weeks since prior endocrine therapy for melanoma
* No concurrent systemic steroid therapy
* No concurrent endocrine therapy for melanoma

Radiotherapy:

* See Disease Characteristics
* At least 3 weeks since prior radiotherapy for melanoma and recovered
* No concurrent radiotherapy for melanoma

Surgery:

* See Disease Characteristics

Other:

* No other concurrent therapy for melanoma