Oblimersen, Thalidomide, and Dexamethasone in Treating Patients With Relapsed or Refractory Multiple Myeloma

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

* Histologically and clinically confirmed multiple myeloma

  * Relapsed and/or refractory after chemotherapy or transplantation

    * Patients with prior allogeneic transplantation must not have evidence of active graft-vs-host disease requiring immune suppression
* Measurable disease defined by quantitative immune globulin levels in serum and/or urine and bone marrow plasmacytosis

  * Patients with nonsecretory disease are eligible provided at least 1 plasmacytoma lesion is accurately measurable by MRI or CT scan
* No known CNS involvement

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Age

* 18 and over

Performance status

* ECOG 0-2 OR
* Karnofsky 60-100%

Life expectancy

* More than 3 months

Hematopoietic

* See Disease Characteristics
* Absolute neutrophil count at least 1,000/mm\^3\*
* Platelet count at least 50,000/mm\^3\* NOTE: \*Unless secondary to bone marrow plasmacytosis (more than 80% involvement)

Hepatic

* Bilirubin less than 2 times normal
* AST/ALT no greater than 3 times upper limit of normal

Renal

* Creatinine no greater than 2 mg/dL

Cardiovascular

* No symptomatic congestive heart failure
* No unstable angina pectoris
* No cardiac arrhythmia

Other

* Seizures allowed if under adequate control
* No severe skin reactions from prior thalidomide
* No prior allergic reactions attributed to agents used in this study
* No sensory or motor neuropathy grade II or greater
* No other uncontrolled concurrent illness that would preclude study therapy
* No ongoing or active infection
* No psychiatric illness or social situations that would preclude study compliance
* Not pregnant or nursing
* Negative pregnancy test
* Fertile patients must use 2 effective methods of contraception for 1 month before, during, and for 1 month after study participation

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

Biologic therapy

* See Disease Characteristics
* See Chemotherapy
* At least 6 weeks since prior thalidomide

Chemotherapy

* See Disease Characteristics
* No more than 4 prior chemotherapy regimens, including autologous and/or allogeneic stem cell transplantation regimens
* At least 4 weeks since prior chemotherapy (6 weeks for nitrosoureas or mitomycin) and recovered

Endocrine therapy

* Concurrent continuous steroids allowed for chronic treatment of disorders other than myeloma

Radiotherapy

* Not specified

Surgery

* Not specified

Other

* No prior oblimersen
* No other concurrent anticancer therapies or investigational agents
* No concurrent combination antiretroviral therapy for HIV-positive patients