Medroxyprogesterone or Interferon and/or Aldesleukin in Treating Patients With Metastatic Kidney Cancer

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

* Histologically confirmed metastatic renal cell adenocarcinoma, meeting 1 of the following criteria:

  * More than 1 metastatic site and good performance status (Karnofsky score 80-100%)
  * Sole metastatic site with Karnofsky score = 80%

    * Karnofsky 90% or 100% not eligible
  * No combination of several metastatic sites and liver metastases and a time interval from primary tumor to metastases of \< 1 year
* Nonmeasurable disease and/or few numbers of lesions must be confirmed histologically and as progressive disease
* The following metastases are allowed:

  * Lung with or without mediastinum lymph nodes
  * Bone
  * Pleura (solid or liquid with positive cytology)
  * Thoracic lymph nodes
  * Abdominal lymph nodes
  * Superficial lymph nodes
  * Liver
  * Subcutaneous skin/tissue
  * Contralateral kidney
  * Nephrectomy site
  * Other organs
* Prior metastases allowed provided the following criteria are met:

  * Evidence of progressive disease within the past 3 months
  * Metastases evaluated by noninvasive methods
* No evidence of active brain metastases

  * Prior brain metastases allowed provided all of the following criteria are met:

    * Disease is stable
    * Reductive therapy (surgery or radiotherapy) completed at least 3 weeks prior to study entry
    * Metastases have not progressed (confirmed by CT scan or MRI)
    * No concurrent corticosteroids required

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

* See Disease Characteristics
* Creatinine \< 1.8 mg/dL
* Hematocrit ≥ 30%
* WBC ≥ 4,000/mm\^3
* Platelet count ≥ 120,000/mm\^3
* Bilirubin normal
* LVEF ≥ 50%
* Not pregnant or nursing
* Negative pregnancy test
* Fertile patients must use effective contraception
* No HIV positivity
* No severe infection requiring antibiotic therapy
* No chronic hepatitis
* No severe lung, liver or kidney condition that would preclude study treatment
* No hepatitis B surface antigen positivity
* No severe neuropsychiatric condition or epilepsy
* No serious thromboembolitic disorder
* No severe cardiac dysfunction (e.g., congestive heart failure, uncontrolled hypertension, serious arrhythmia, or coronary disease)
* No other prior or concurrent primary malignancies except for basal cell skin cancer or carcinoma in situ of the cervix
* No geographical, psychological, or familial condition that would preclude study participation

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

* More than 6 weeks since prior wide-field radiotherapy
* No prior systemic chemotherapy
* No prior organ transplantation
* No prior cytokines
* No concurrent hormonal therapy
* No concurrent anticancer chemotherapy
* No concurrent corticosteroids
* No other concurrent immunotherapy
* No other concurrent investigational agents or therapies