BL22 Immunotoxin In Treating Young Patients With Relapsed or Refractory Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia or Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma

You may be eligible if

• DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:
• Histologically confirmed acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) or non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (including lymphoblastic lymphoma, Burkitt's lymphoma, and large cell lymphoma)
• * Not amenable to available curative therapies
• Relapsed or refractory disease after at least 1 standard chemotherapy and 1 salvage regimen
• CD22 positive according to at least 1 of the following criteria:
• * More than 15% CD22-positive malignant cells by immunohistochemistry
• * More than 30% CD22-positive malignant cells by fluorescent-activated cell sorter analysis
• Measurable or evaluable disease
• Prior CNS involvement allowed provided there is no current evidence of CNS malignancy
• No CNS leukemia or lymphoma as manifested by any of the following:
• * Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) WBC ≥ 5/mm\^3 and confirmation of CSF blasts
• * Cranial neuropathies secondary to underlying malignancy
• * Radiologically detected CNS lymphoma
• No isolated testicular ALL
• Ineligible for or refused hematopoietic stem cell transplantation OR has disease activity that prohibits the time required to identify a suitable stem cell donor
• PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:
• Age
• 6 months to 24 years
• Performance status
• ECOG 0-3 (12 to 24 years of age)
• Lansky 40-100% (under 12 years of age)
• Life expectancy
• Not specified
• Hematopoietic
• See Disease Characteristics
• Absolute neutrophil count \> 1,000/mm\^3 \*
• Platelet count \> 50,000/mm\^3 \* NOTE: \*Non-leukemic patients only
• Hepatic
• Bilirubin ≤ 2.0 mg/dL
• AST and ALT ≤ 5 times upper limit of normal
• No active hepatitis B or C infection
• Renal
• Creatinine normal for age OR
• Creatinine clearance ≥ 60 mL/min
• Immunologic
• No serum neutralization of more than 75% of the activity of 1 µg/mL of study drug
• HIV negative
• Other
• Not pregnant or nursing
• Negative pregnancy test
• Fertile patients must use effective contraception
• No clinically significant unrelated systemic illness that would preclude study participation
• No other significant organ dysfunction that would preclude study participation
• No psychiatric illness or social situation that would preclude study compliance
• PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:
• Biologic therapy
• See Disease Characteristics
• At least 1 week since prior colony-stimulating factors (e.g., filgrastim \[G-CSF\], sargramostim \[GM-CSF\], or epoetin alfa)
• Prior autologous or allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) allowed
• More than 100 days since prior allogeneic HSCT
• Chemotherapy
• See Disease Characteristics
• At least 2 weeks since prior chemotherapy (6 weeks for nitrosoureas)
• Endocrine therapy
• Concurrent corticosteroids allowed provided there has been no increase in the dose 1 week prior to and after study entry
• * Steroid taper allowed
• Radiotherapy
• At least 3 weeks since prior radiotherapy
• * Allowed in the past 3 weeks provided the volume of the bone marrow treated is \< 10% AND the patients has measurable disease outside of the radiation port
• Surgery
• Not specified
• Other
• Recovered from prior therapy
• At least 30 days since prior investigational drugs
• No other concurrent investigational drugs