Inclusion Criteria

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

- Diagnosis of melanoma

- Metastatic disease

- Measurable disease

- HLA-A2 negative disease

- Disease did not respond to OR recurred after completion of prior high-dose
interleukin-2 (IL-2)

- Eligible to receive high-dose IL-2

- No tumor reactive cells available for cell transfer therapy

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Age

- 18 and over

Performance status

- ECOG 0-1

Life expectancy

- At least 3 months

Hematopoietic

- Absolute neutrophil count > 1,000/mm^3

- Platelet count > 100,000/mm^3

- Hemoglobin > 8.0 g/dL

- No coagulation disorders

Hepatic

- ALT and AST < 3 times upper limit of normal

- Bilirubin ≤ 2.0 mg/dL (< 3.0 mg/dL if due to Gilbert's syndrome)

- Hepatitis B surface antigen negative

- Hepatitis C antigen negative

Renal

- Creatinine ≤ 2.0 mg/dL

- No renal failure requiring dialysis due to toxic effects of prior IL-2 administration

Cardiovascular

- No myocardial infarction

- No cardiac arrhythmias

- No other major cardiovascular illness as evidenced by a positive stress thallium or
comparable test

- Normal cardiac stress test (e.g., stress thallium, stress MUGA, dobutamine
echocardiogram) AND LVEF ≥ 45% (for patients ≥ 50 years of age or who have a history
of EKG abnormalities, symptoms of cardiac ischemia, or arrhythmias)

Pulmonary

- No obstructive or restrictive pulmonary disease

- No other major respiratory illness

- FEV_1 ≥ 60% of predicted (for patients with a prolonged history of cigarette smoking
or symptoms of respiratory dysfunction)

Immunologic

- HIV negative

- Epstein-Barr virus positive

- No active systemic infection

- No autoimmune disease (e.g., autoimmune colitis or Crohn's disease)

- No immunodeficiency due to prior chemotherapy or radiotherapy

- Recovered immune competence after prior chemotherapy or radiotherapy as
evidenced by normal lymphocyte count and WBC and an absence of opportunistic
infection

- No other major immune system disease

Other

- Not pregnant or nursing

- Negative pregnancy test

- Fertile patients must use effective contraception during and for 4 months after
completion of study treatment

- No other toxic effects during prior IL-2 administration that would preclude redosing
with IL-2, including the following:

- Mental status changes that would require intubation

- Bowel perforation

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

Biologic therapy

- See Disease Characteristics

- At least 4 weeks since prior systemic therapy

Chemotherapy

- At least 6 weeks since prior nitrosoureas

- At least 4 weeks since prior systemic therapy

Endocrine therapy

- No concurrent systemic steroid therapy

Radiotherapy

- Not specified

Surgery

- Not specified