Vaccine Therapy in Treating Patients With Stage III or Stage IV Melanoma That Cannot Be Removed By Surgery

You may be eligible if

• DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:
• Diagnosis of melanoma
• * Unresectable stage III or IV disease
• * Mucosal or ocular disease allowed
• Positive HLA-A1, -A2, or -A3 expression
• PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:
• Age
• 12 and over
• Performance status
• ECOG 0-1
• Life expectancy
• Not specified
• Hematopoietic
• Absolute neutrophil count \> 1,000/mm\^3
• Platelet count \> 100,000/mm\^3
• Hemoglobin \> 9 g/dL
• Hepatic
• Liver function tests ≤ 2.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN)
• Renal
• Creatinine ≤ 1.5 times ULN
• Cardiovascular
• No New York Heart Association class III or IV heart disease
• Other
• Weight ≥ 100 pounds
• Not pregnant or nursing
• No other malignancy within the past 5 years except squamous cell or basal cell skin cancer without known metastasis, carcinoma in situ of the breast, or carcinoma in situ of the cervix
• PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:
• Biologic therapy
• No prior vaccination with any of the peptides used in this protocol
• More than 1 year since prior melanoma vaccine therapy
• More than 4 weeks since prior immunotherapy
• More than 4 weeks since prior growth factors
• More than 4 weeks since prior allergy shots
• Chemotherapy
• More than 4 weeks since prior chemotherapy
• Endocrine therapy
• More than 4 weeks since prior steroid therapy
• Radiotherapy
• More than 4 weeks since prior radiotherapy
• Surgery
• Prior tumor resection allowed