RATIONALE: Vaccines made by inserting a laboratory-treated gene into a person's tumor cells may make the body build an immune response to kill tumor cells. Interleukin-2 may stimulate a person's white blood cells to kill cancer cells. Combining vaccine therapy with interleukin-2 may kill more tumor cells.

PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of combining vaccine therapy with interleukin-2 in treating patients who have stage IV kidney cancer.

OBJECTIVES:

• Determine the percentage of patients with stage IV renal cell carcinoma with a reduction in tumor size after treatment with B7-1 gene-modified autologous tumor cell vaccine and interleukin-2.
• Determine the immunogenicity of this regimen in these patients.
• Determine the overall survival of patients treated with this regimen.
• Determine the local and systemic toxicity of this regimen in these patients.

OUTLINE: Tumor tissue for vaccine preparation is obtained when patients undergo palliative surgical resection of primary tumor or therapeutic resection of metastasis.

At approximately 3-6 weeks after surgery, patients receive B7-1 gene-modified autologous tumor cell vaccine subcutaneously (SC) once on days 1, 29, and 57. At 6 weeks after the first vaccination, patients receive interleukin-2 (IL-2) SC five days a week for 6 weeks (days 43-82). Patients with stable or responding disease after day 106 may receive additional vaccinations in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.

Patients are followed at 3 weeks after the last dose of IL-2.

PROJECTED ACCRUAL: Approximately 30 patients will be accrued for this study.

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Histologically confirmed stage IV renal cell carcinoma

  • Symptomatic primary tumor or resectable metastasis

• Measurable disease post resection

• No symptomatic brain metastases

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Age:

• 18 and over

Performance status:

• Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) 0-1

Life expectancy:

• Not specified

Hematopoietic:

• WBC greater than 4,000/mm^3
• Platelet count greater than 100,000/mm^3
• Hemoglobin greater than 10 g/dL
• Hematocrit greater than 30%

Hepatic:

• Bilirubin less than 2 times normal
• SGOT less than 3 times normal

Renal:

• Creatinine less than 1.5 mg/dL OR
• Creatinine clearance greater than 60 mL/min

Cardiovascular:

• No evidence of active myocardial ischemia, prior myocardial infarction, or arrhythmia

Other:

• Not pregnant or nursing
• Negative pregnancy test
• Fertile patients must use effective contraception
• No contraindications to surgical resection
• No history of immunodeficiency disease
• No known allergy to penicillin

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

Biologic therapy:

• Prior interleukin-2, interferon alfa, or other biologic agent allowed

Chemotherapy:

• Not specified

Endocrine therapy:

• No concurrent corticosteroids (except for replacement doses for adrenal insufficiency)

Radiotherapy:

• Not specified

Surgery:

• See Disease Characteristics

Other:

• No concurrent immunosuppressants