Vaccine Therapy in Treating Women With Metastatic Breast Cancer

You may be eligible if

• DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:
• Histologically proven metastatic breast cancer
• * Stage IV disease patients who have either been treated to maximal response or who have had high dose chemotherapy or a marrow ablative regimen (if they meet immunologic criteria and have not received more than 2 chemotherapy regimens for treatment of metastatic disease)
• * Patients with advanced stage disease who:
• * Received at least 1 standard chemotherapy regimen, but no more than 2, for treatment of metastatic disease
• * Refused chemotherapy
• * Refused or progressed despite hormonal therapy
• Measurable or evaluable disease
• Positive or negative for HLA-A2
• Must have superficial inguinal or axillary lymph nodes that are free of tumor involvement and are surgically accessible
• No symptomatic or acutely life threatening tumor that is judged likely to require intervention with alternative modalities within 3 months
• No brain metastases
• Hormone receptor status:
• * Not specified
• PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:
• Age:
• 18 and over
• Sex:
• Female
• Menopausal status:
• Not specified
• Performance status:
• ECOG 0 or 1
• Life expectancy:
• Not specified
• Hematopoietic:
• WBC greater than 3,000/mm\^3
• Hepatic:
• Not specified
• Renal:
• BUN less than 25 mg/dL
• Creatinine less than 1.8 mg/dL
• Cardiovascular:
• No ischemic or congestive cardiac disease requiring chronic medication
• No New York Heart Association class III or IV heart disease
• No evidence of ischemic change or ventricular ectopy (greater than 4/min) on electrocardiogram (EKG)
• No evidence of type II arterial-ventricular block
• No evidence of current cardiac disease by stress test and EKG
• Other:
• HIV negative
• No active infection requiring treatment
• No psychiatric illness
• No history of seizure disorder
• No other prior malignancy within the past 10 years except squamous cell or basal cell skin cancer or carcinoma in situ of the cervix
• PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:
• Biologic therapy:
• At least 4 weeks since prior specific or nonspecific immunotherapy, unless there is obvious progression of metastatic disease, and recovered
• Chemotherapy:
• See Disease Characteristics
• At least 4 weeks since prior chemotherapy, unless there is obvious progression of metastatic disease, and recovered
• Endocrine therapy:
• At least 4 weeks since prior steroids, unless there is obvious progression of metastatic disease, and recovered
• Radiotherapy:
• Concurrent radiotherapy allowed for local control of disease
• Surgery:
• Not specified