Vaccine Therapy in Treating Patients With Stage IV Head and Neck Cancer

You may be eligible if

• DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:
• Histologically confirmed stage IV squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity or oropharynx or nodal or dermal metastases for which current available treatment is not likely to offer a survival advantage or result in significant palliation
• * Unresectable locoregional recurrence after maximum radiotherapy OR
• * Local disease with unresectable distant metastases involving:
• * Base of skull
• * Prevertebral fascia
• * Deep neck muscles
• * Carotid artery (requiring resection)
• * Nasopharynx and/or pterygoid muscles
• Ineligible to receive radiotherapy to head and neck during study
• Primary intraoral lesions must be measurable and accessible to intralesional injections
• No metastatic brain lesions, cerebral metastasis, or leptomeningeal disease
• PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:
• Age:
• 18 and over
• Performance status:
• Zubrod 0-2
• Life expectancy:
• At least 2 months
• Hematopoietic:
• Absolute neutrophil count greater than 1,000/mm\^3
• Platelet count greater than 100,000/mm\^3
• Hemoglobin greater than 8 g/dL
• Hepatic:
• Bilirubin less than 1.5 mg/dL
• AST/ALT less than 4 times upper limit of normal (ULN)
• PT/PTT less than 1.5 times ULN
• Renal:
• Creatinine less than 2.0 mg/dL OR
• Creatinine clearance greater than 60 mL/min
• Cardiovascular:
• No evidence of congestive heart failure
• No serious cardiac dysrhythmia
• No evidence of recent prior myocardial infarction on EKG
• No clinical coronary artery disease
• Neurologic:
• No history of seizures or concurrent seizure disorder
• No evidence of encephalitis, multiple sclerosis, or other structural brain lesion(s) by clinical or radiological evaluation
• Immunologic:
• No risk of immune system compromise
• HIV negative
• No hypersensitivity to eggs
• No significant history of allergies (e.g., anaphylaxis or angioedema)
• Other:
• No active or chronic infection
• No other serious concurrent medical illness
• No other malignancy unless previously treated with curative intent and no evidence of persistent or recurrent disease
• Not pregnant or nursing
• Negative pregnancy test
• Fertile patients must use effective contraception
• PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:
• Biologic therapy:
• At least 4 weeks since prior immunotherapy and recovered
• Chemotherapy:
• No more than 2 prior chemotherapy regimens
• At least 4 weeks since prior chemotherapy and recovered
• Endocrine therapy:
• At least 4 weeks since prior systemic corticosteroids
• No concurrent systemic corticosteroids
• Radiotherapy:
• See Disease Characteristics
• At least 4 weeks since prior radiotherapy and recovered
• No prior radiotherapy to more than 50% of nodal groups
• Surgery:
• More than 4 weeks since prior surgery for primary or metastatic lesions and recovered
• No prior splenectomy