Vaccine Therapy Followed by Biological Therapy in Treating Patients With Stage III or Stage IV Melanoma

You may be eligible if

• DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:
• Histologically confirmed metastatic melanoma
• * Measurable disease after attempted curative surgery
• * Unresectable stage III or IV uveal melanoma
• * Metastatic mucosal melanoma
• HLA-A2.1 positive
• No disease progression following high dose interleukin-2 (600,000 or 720,000 IU/kg every 8 hours)
• PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:
• Age:
• 18 and over
• Performance status:
• ECOG 0-1
• Life expectancy:
• Not specified
• Hematopoietic:
• WBC at least 3,000/mm\^3
• Platelet count at least 75,000/mm\^3
• Hemoglobin at least 9.0 g/dL
• No coagulation disorders
• Hepatic:
• Bilirubin no greater than 2.0 mg/dL
• Renal:
• Creatinine no greater than 2.0 mg/dL
• Cardiovascular:
• No myocardial infarction within the past 6 months
• Patients with documented or suspected coronary artery disease must undergo stress thallium test
• No major cardiovascular illness
• Pulmonary:
• No major pulmonary illness
• Immunologic:
• HIV negative
• Hepatitis B surface antigen negative
• Hepatitis C antibody negative
• No history of uveitis or autoimmune inflammatory eye disease
• Other:
• Not pregnant or nursing
• Negative pregnancy test
• Fertile patients must use effective contraception
• No major systemic infection
• No other malignancy within the past 5 years except curatively treated carcinoma in situ of the cervix or basal cell skin cancer
• PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:
• Biologic therapy:
• See Disease Characteristics
• No prior MART-1:26-35, gp100:209-217, or tyrosinase:368-376 antigens
• Chemotherapy:
• At least 1 month since prior chemotherapy for melanoma
• Endocrine therapy:
• No concurrent steroid therapy
• Radiotherapy:
• At least 1 month since prior radiotherapy for melanoma
• Surgery:
• See Disease Characteristics
• Other:
• At least 1 month since prior adjuvant therapy for melanoma
• At least 1 month since other prior therapy for melanoma