Inclusion Criteria

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

- Documented histologically confirmed metastatic renal cell carcinoma

- Clear cell histology

- Disease must be measurable as defined by lesions that can be accurately measured in
at least one dimension with longest diameter > 20 mm using conventional techniques or
> 10 mm with spiral CT scan

- Must have at least one measurable lesion

- If the measurable disease is restricted to a solitary lesion, its neoplastic
nature should be confirmed by cytology/histology

- Clinical lesions will only be considered measurable when they are superficial
(e.g., skin nodules and palpable lymph nodes)

- The following are considered nonmeasurable lesions:

- Bone lesions

- Leptomeningeal disease

- Ascites

- Pleural/pericardial effusion

- Inflammatory breast disease

- Lymphangitis cutis/pulmonis

- Cystic lesions

- Abdominal masses not confirmed and followed by imaging techniques

- No CNS metastases

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

- ECOG performance status < 2

- Life expectancy of at least 4 months

- Serum creatinine < 2.0 mg/dL OR creatinine clearance > 50 mL/min

- Total bilirubin normal

- Platelets > 100,000/mm³

- WBC > 3,500/mm³

- No evidence of congestive heart failure

- No symptoms of coronary artery disease

- No serious cardiac arrhythmias

- A pretreatment cardiac stress test must be performed within 42 days of IL-2 treatment
if any cardiac symptoms are present (patients with documented ischemia on the
pretreatment cardiac stress test will be excluded from the study)

- Adequate pulmonary reserve

- Pulmonary function tests (PFTs) must be performed within 42 days of IL-2
treatment

- FEV_1 > 2.0 liters of > 75% predicted for height and age

- Patients unable to perform PFTs will be excluded

- Women who are pregnant or lactating are not eligible

- Women of childbearing potential and sexually active males must commit to the use of
effective contraception while on study

- Negative pregnancy test

- No known HIV-positive patients

- No evidence of active infection requiring antibiotic therapy

- Must not have a contraindication to treatment with pressor agents

- Must not have any significant medical disease that, in the opinion of the
investigator, may interfere with completion of the study

- No history of another malignancy within the past 5 years other than basal cell skin
cancer

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

- Recovered from all toxic effects of prior therapy

- Must not currently receive chronic medication for asthma

- No prior interleukin-2 (IL-2) therapy

- No prior organ allografts

- No systemic corticosteroids in the 4 weeks prior to treatment

- No concurrent systemic steroids

- No radiotherapy, chemotherapy, or immunotherapy in the 4 weeks prior to the first
dose of study treatment

- No concurrent radiotherapy, chemotherapy, or other immunotherapy

- No previous investigational agent within 4 weeks prior to the start of study
treatment