RATIONALE: Vaccines made from a person's white blood cells may make the body build an immune response to kill cancer cells.

PURPOSE: Phase I trial to study the effectiveness of vaccine therapy in treating patients who have chronic myelogenous leukemia.

OBJECTIVES:

• Determine the feasibility of vaccination with autologous heat shock protein 70 in patients with chronic phase chronic myelogenous leukemia.
• Determine the toxicity of this vaccination in these patients.

OUTLINE: Patients undergo leukapheresis to obtain peripheral mononuclear cells (PMNCs). Heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) is derived from the autologous PMNCs. Patients receive HSP70 intradermally once weekly for 8 weeks.

Patients are followed for 2 weeks.

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Diagnosis of chronic phase chronic myelogenous leukemia

  • Philadelphia chromosome positive

• Peripheral blast count no greater than 10%

• No molecular remission

• Less than 3 years since initial diagnosis

• No anticipation of requirement for bone marrow or stem cell transplantation for 6 months

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Age:

• 18 and over

Performance status:

• ECOG 0-1

Life expectancy:

• Not specified

Hematopoietic:

• Hemoglobin at least 10 g/dL
• Platelet count at least 20,000/mm^3

Hepatic:

• Bilirubin less than 2.0 times upper limit of normal (ULN)
• Transaminase less than 2.0 times ULN

Renal:

• Creatinine less than 2.0 mg/dL

Other:

• Not pregnant
• Negative pregnancy test
• Fertile patients must use effective contraception
• No significant active infection requiring hospitalization
• No other serious illness or significant behavioral or psychological problem that would preclude study involvement

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

Biologic therapy:

• See Disease Characteristics
• Prior interferon alfa allowed
• No concurrent interferon alfa

Chemotherapy:

• Prior cytarabine or other cytotoxic agents allowed
• No concurrent cytarabine or other cytotoxic agents
• Concurrent hydroxyurea allowed

Endocrine therapy:

• No concurrent corticosteroid therapy

Radiotherapy:

• Not specified

Surgery:

• Not specified

Other:

• No concurrent immunosuppressive medications
• Concurrent imatinib mesylate allowed