Immunotoxin in Treating Patients With Leukemia or Lymphoma

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Histologically confirmed Hodgkin's disease, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, or leukemia in one of the following categories:
• Adult T-cell leukemia or lymphoma (ATL)
• No smoldering ATL
• No limitation on prior therapy
• Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL)
• Stages IB-III and failed at least 1 standard therapy
• Stage IV regardless of prior therapy
• Stages I-IV peripheral T-cell lymphoma
• Relapsed after standard chemotherapy
• Ineligible for or refused salvage chemotherapy or bone marrow transplantation (BMT)
• B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) of any histology
• Indolent stages II-IV NHL
• Failed at least 1 standard therapy
• Disease symptomatic and requiring treatment
• Aggressive NHL
• Relapsed after standard chemotherapy
• Ineligible for or refused salvage chemotherapy or BMT
• Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)
• Rai stages III and IV or Binet stage C
• Failed standard therapy and at least 1 salvage chemotherapy
• Primary B-cell prolymphocytic leukemia or prolymphocytic transformation of CLL
• Failed standard therapy and at least 1 salvage chemotherapy
• Hairy cell leukemia
• Failed standard and salvage chemotherapy
• Ineligible for or refused further salvage chemotherapy or BMT
• Acute myelogenous leukemia
• Failed standard chemotherapy
• Ineligible for or refused salvage chemotherapy or BMT
• Stages II-IV Hodgkin's disease
• Failed standard chemotherapy
• Ineligible for curative salvage radiotherapy or chemotherapy
• Ineligible for or refused BMT
• Patients with leukemias or lymphomas not easily classified in above categories who have failed standard therapy and are ineligible for or have refused bone marrow transplant
• Evidence of interleukin-2 receptor-alpha (IL2Ra) expression by one of the following:
• Greater than 10% of malignant cells reactive with anti-Tac by immunohistochemistry
• Greater than 10% of malignant cells from a particular site positive by FACS
• Greater than 400 IL2Ra sites per malignant cell by radiolabeled anti-Tac binding
• Soluble IL2Ra level greater than 1,000 U/mL (normal geometric mean 235, with 95% confidence levels of 112-502 U)
• Hodgkin's disease with measurable disease not amenable to biopsy
• No CNS disease requiring treatment
• Malignant cells in CSF allowed if judged not to represent clinically significant leukemic or lymphomatous meningitis (as in CSF contamination by blood)

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Age:

• 18 and over

Performance status:

• Karnofsky 50-100%

Life expectancy:

• Greater than 2 months

Hematopoietic:

• Absolute neutrophil count greater than 1,000/mm3*
• Platelet count greater than 50,000/mm3* NOTE: *nonleukemic patients

Hepatic:

• AST and ALT less than 5 times normal

Renal:

• Creatinine less than 2.0 mg/dL OR
• Creatinine clearance greater than 50 mL/min

Pulmonary:

• FEV1, TLC, and DLCO greater than 50% of predicted if pulmonary or mediastinal involvement with tumor greater than one third of total thoracic diameter

Other:

• HIV negative
• Not pregnant
• Fertile patients must use effective contraception
• Serum must neutralize no more than 75% LMB-2 in tissue culture

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

Biologic therapy:

• See Disease Characteristics
• At least 3 weeks since prior interferon

Chemotherapy:

• See Disease Characteristics
• At least 3 weeks since prior cytotoxic chemotherapy
• At least 3 weeks since prior retinoids
• No concurrent chemotherapy

Endocrine therapy:

• No concurrent corticosteroids unless begun at least 3 weeks prior to entry and dose not increased during 3 weeks prior to entry

Radiotherapy:

• See Disease Characteristics
• At least 3 weeks since prior whole-body electron beam radiotherapy
• Other radiotherapy allowed within 3 weeks of entry provided less than 10% of marrow irradiated and measurable disease exists outside radiation port

Surgery:

• Not specified

Other:

• See Disease Characteristics
• At least 3 weeks since any prior systemic therapy
• No other concurrent investigational agents