Vaccine Therapy in Treating Patients With HER2/Neu Positive or Negative Stage IV Breast Cancer or Other HER2/Neu Positive Cancers

You may be eligible if

• DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:
• Histologically confirmed breast cancer meeting 1 of the following criteria:
• * Recurrent and/or metastatic lesions that are HER2/neu-positive or negative
• * Recurrent or progressive cancer of the lung, ovary, pancreas, prostate, bladder, or other primary site associated with HER2/neu-positive tumor by histochemistry
• Bone-only metastatic breast cancer, cytologically confirmed malignant effusions, histologically confirmed marrow involvement, or other evaluable (but non-measurable) metastatic disease allowed
• Failed prior first-line chemotherapy (e.g., anthracycline- or taxane-based therapy) with or without adjuvant chemotherapy or hormonal therapy
• No curative or reliably effective palliative surgery, radiotherapy, or medical therapy available
• Stable brain metastases allowed provided the following criteria are met\*:
• * Previously treated
• * No concurrent requirement for corticosteroids
• * No radiological or clinical deterioration within the past 6 weeks NOTE: \*Patients who had recent treatment with gamma knife or intensity-modulated radiotherapy for brain metastases are eligible provided there has been recovery from known or anticipated toxic effects
• Patients with no HLA-A2 allele are eligible
• Hormone receptor status:
• * Not specified
• PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:
• Age
• 18 and over
• Sex
• Female or male
• Menopausal status
• Not specified
• Performance status
• ECOG 0-2
• Life expectancy
• At least 4 months
• Hematopoietic
• Absolute granulocyte count ≥ 1,000/mm\^3
• Platelet count ≥ 100,000/mm\^3
• Hepatic
• Bilirubin ≤ 2 mg/dL
• Alkaline phosphatase ≤ 5 times upper limit of normal (ULN)
• ALT and AST ≤ 2 times ULN
• Renal
• BUN ≤ 30 mg/dL
• Creatinine ≤ 2 mg/dL
• ≤ 1 g protein on 24-hour urine collection OR
• ≤ 1+ proteinuria on urinalysis
• Cardiovascular
• Hypertension controlled by agents (except beta-blockers) allowed
• Other
• Not pregnant or nursing
• Negative pregnancy test
• Fertile patients must use effective contraception
• HIV negative
• No history of anaphylactic reaction to any known or unknown antigen
• No history of clinical hypersensitivity to sargramostim (GM-CSF), interferon, yeast, beef, or to any components used in preparation of study vaccine
• No clinical or laboratory features indicative of AIDS
• No rheumatological, psychiatric, or other clinically progressive major medical problems requiring treatment
• No other malignancy within the past 2 years
• PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:
• Biologic therapy
• More than 3 weeks since prior biological therapy, including trastuzumab (Herceptin\^®)
• More than 3 weeks since prior immunotherapy
• No concurrent immunotherapy
• Chemotherapy
• See Disease Characteristics
• More than 3 weeks since prior chemotherapy (8 weeks for nitrosoureas or mitomycin)
• No concurrent chemotherapy
• Endocrine therapy
• See Disease Characteristics
• More than 3 weeks since prior hormonal therapy
• No concurrent hormonal therapy
• No concurrent systemic steroids
• * Concurrent inhalation steroids for respiratory hypersensitivity (e.g., triamcinolone nasal or pulmonary inhalers) allowed
• Radiotherapy
• See Disease Characteristics
• More than 3 weeks since prior radiotherapy
• No concurrent radiotherapy
• Surgery
• More than 3 weeks since prior major surgery with general anesthesia
• No concurrent major surgery
• Other
• Recovered from prior therapy
• Patients receiving pamidronate, bisphosphonates, or other supportive measures must continue therapy during study participation
• No concurrent anticoagulants
• No concurrent beta-blockers for control of mild hypertension or other indications