Ipilimumab and Sargramostim in Treating Patients With Metastatic Prostate Cancer

You may be eligible if

• Histologically confirmed prostate cancer
• * Metastatic disease
• Progressive disease after prior androgen deprivation as defined by at least 1 of the following criteria:
• * Patients with measurable disease must have an increase of at least 20% in the sum of the longest diameter of target lesions OR the appearance of 1 or more new lesions
• * Patients with nonmeasurable disease must have a positive bone scan and a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level of at least 5 ng/mL, which has risen on at least 2 successive occasions at least 2 weeks apart\*
• * At least 1 PSA level must be obtained at least 4 weeks after flutamide (6 weeks after bicalutamide or nilutamide)
• Testosterone no greater than 50 ng/dL
• * Patients with no prior orchiectomy must continue luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone agonist therapy
• No history or radiologic evidence of CNS metastases
• Performance status - ECOG 0-2
• At least 12 weeks
• Absolute neutrophil count greater than 1,500/mm\^3
• Platelet count at least 100,000/mm\^3
• Hemoglobin at least 8 g/dL
• Bilirubin less than 1.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN)
• SGOT and SGPT no greater than 2.5 times ULN
• Creatinine no greater than 1.5 times ULN
• No significant cardiovascular disease
• No New York Heart Association class III or IV congestive heart failure
• No active angina pectoris
• No myocardial infarction within the past 6 months
• Not pregnant or nursing
• Fertile patients must use effective contraception prior to, during, and for 3 months after study participation
• No history of autoimmune disease including, but not limited to, any of the following:
• * Autoimmune hemolytic anemia
• * Ulcerative and hemorrhagic colitis
• * Endocrine disorders (e.g., thyroiditis, hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism of immune etiology, autoimmune hypophysitis/hypopituitarism, or adrenal insufficiency)
• * Sarcoid granuloma
• * Myasthenia gravis
• * Polymyositis
• * Guillain-Barre syndrome
• * Systemic lupus erythematosus
• * Rheumatoid arthritis
• * Inflammatory bowel disease
• No other medical or psychiatric illness that would preclude study participation or giving informed consent
• No other malignancy within the past 5 years except adequately treated basal cell or squamous cell skin cancer or stage I or II cancer currently in complete remission
• No prior immunotherapy (e.g., vaccines or investigational)
• No other concurrent colony-stimulating factors
• No prior chemotherapy
• No concurrent chemotherapy
• See Disease Characteristics
• At least 4 weeks since prior systemic corticosteroids
• At least 4 weeks since other prior hormonal therapy, including megestrol and finasteride
• No concurrent systemic steroid therapy except inhaled or topical steroids
• No other concurrent hormonal therapy
• * Hormones administered for nondisease-related conditions (e.g., insulin for diabetes) allowed
• At least 4 weeks since prior radiotherapy and recovered
• More than 8 weeks since prior radiopharmaceuticals (e.g., strontium chloride Sr 89 and samarium Sm 153 lexidronam pentasodium)
• Prior irradiation of a symptomatic lesion or one that may produce disability (e.g., unstable femur) allowed
• No concurrent palliative radiotherapy
• See Disease Characteristics
• At least 4 weeks since prior herbal products known to decrease PSA levels (e.g., PC-SPES or saw palmetto)