BL22 Immunotoxin In Treating Young Patients With Relapsed or Refractory Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia or Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

* Histologically confirmed acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) or non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (including lymphoblastic lymphoma, Burkitt's lymphoma, and large cell lymphoma)

  * Not amenable to available curative therapies
* Relapsed or refractory disease after at least 1 standard chemotherapy and 1 salvage regimen
* CD22 positive according to at least 1 of the following criteria:

  * More than 15% CD22-positive malignant cells by immunohistochemistry
  * More than 30% CD22-positive malignant cells by fluorescent-activated cell sorter analysis
* Measurable or evaluable disease
* Prior CNS involvement allowed provided there is no current evidence of CNS malignancy
* No CNS leukemia or lymphoma as manifested by any of the following:

  * Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) WBC ≥ 5/mm\^3 and confirmation of CSF blasts
  * Cranial neuropathies secondary to underlying malignancy
  * Radiologically detected CNS lymphoma
* No isolated testicular ALL
* Ineligible for or refused hematopoietic stem cell transplantation OR has disease activity that prohibits the time required to identify a suitable stem cell donor

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Age

* 6 months to 24 years

Performance status

* ECOG 0-3 (12 to 24 years of age)
* Lansky 40-100% (under 12 years of age)

Life expectancy

* Not specified

Hematopoietic

* See Disease Characteristics
* Absolute neutrophil count \> 1,000/mm\^3 \*
* Platelet count \> 50,000/mm\^3 \* NOTE: \*Non-leukemic patients only

Hepatic

* Bilirubin ≤ 2.0 mg/dL
* AST and ALT ≤ 5 times upper limit of normal
* No active hepatitis B or C infection

Renal

* Creatinine normal for age OR
* Creatinine clearance ≥ 60 mL/min

Immunologic

* No serum neutralization of more than 75% of the activity of 1 µg/mL of study drug
* HIV negative

Other

* Not pregnant or nursing
* Negative pregnancy test
* Fertile patients must use effective contraception
* No clinically significant unrelated systemic illness that would preclude study participation
* No other significant organ dysfunction that would preclude study participation
* No psychiatric illness or social situation that would preclude study compliance

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

Biologic therapy

* See Disease Characteristics
* At least 1 week since prior colony-stimulating factors (e.g., filgrastim \[G-CSF\], sargramostim \[GM-CSF\], or epoetin alfa)
* Prior autologous or allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) allowed
* More than 100 days since prior allogeneic HSCT

Chemotherapy

* See Disease Characteristics
* At least 2 weeks since prior chemotherapy (6 weeks for nitrosoureas)

Endocrine therapy

* Concurrent corticosteroids allowed provided there has been no increase in the dose 1 week prior to and after study entry

  * Steroid taper allowed

Radiotherapy

* At least 3 weeks since prior radiotherapy

  * Allowed in the past 3 weeks provided the volume of the bone marrow treated is \< 10% AND the patients has measurable disease outside of the radiation port

Surgery

* Not specified

Other

* Recovered from prior therapy
* At least 30 days since prior investigational drugs
* No other concurrent investigational drugs