Intratumoral PV701 in Treating Patients With Advanced or Recurrent Unresectable Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck

Inclusion Criteria:

* Histologically or cytologically confirmed squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck

  * Locally advanced or recurrent disease
  * Distant metastases in addition to locally advanced disease acceptable
* Not amenable to available standard treatment or palliative measures
* At least one target lesion accessible for intratumoral injection, less than 4 cm, and not situated near an airway or major artery
* Tumor volume(s) must be large enough to receive injection
* No known brain metastases
* Performance status - ECOG 0-2
* More than 3 months
* WBC \>= 3,000/mm\^3
* Hemoglobin \> 10 g/dL (transfusion permitted)
* Platelet count \>= 100,000/mm\^3
* Bilirubin \< 2 times upper limit of normal (ULN)
* AST/ALT =\< 2.5 times ULN
* Creatinine \< 2.5 mg/dL
* No uncontrolled symptomatic congestive heart failure
* No unstable angina pectoris
* No cardiac arrhythmia
* No history of significantly compromised pulmonary function (i.e. FEV\_1 \< 50% of predicted) or decreased oxygen saturation of \< 95% on room air
* No history of allergy to eggs or egg-based or chicken embryo-based vaccines
* No frequent contact with immunocompromised individuals
* No ongoing or active infection
* No psychiatric illness or social situation that would preclude study compliance
* No history of diabetes mellitus requiring oral hypoglycemic agents or insulin
* No HIV-positive patients receiving combination antiretroviral therapy
* Not pregnant or nursing
* Negative pregnancy test
* Fertile patients must use effective contraception
* More than 4 weeks since prior chemotherapy and recovered
* More than 4 weeks since prior radiotherapy and recovered
* More than 4 weeks since prior surgery and recovered
* No other concurrent investigational agents or commercial agents or therapies for treatment of malignancy
* No concurrent antiviral therapy