Vaccine Therapy in Treating Patients With Stage IV Melanoma

RATIONALE: Vaccines may make the body build an immune response to kill tumor cells. Infusing the vaccine directly into a lymph node may cause a stronger immune response and kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: Phase I trial to study the effectiveness of vaccine therapy given directly into a lymph node in treating patients who have stage IV melanoma.

OBJECTIVES: I. Determine the safety and tolerability of intranodal Synchrotope TA2M plasmid DNA vaccine in patients with stage IV melanoma. II. Determine the immune response of patients treated with this vaccine. III. Determine the clinical response of patients treated with this vaccine. OUTLINE: This is dose-escalation, multicenter study. Patients receive Synchrotope TA2M plasmid DNA vaccine intranodally continuously over 96 hours beginning on days 0, 14, 28, and 42. Treatment continues for up to 2 courses in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Cohorts of 8 patients receive escalating doses of Synchrotope TA2M plasmid DNA vaccine until the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) is determined. The MTD is defined as the dose at which no more than 2 of 8 patients experience dose-limiting toxicity. PROJECTED ACCRUAL: Approximately 16-24 patients will be accrued for this study within 12 months.