RATIONALE: Interleukin-2 may stimulate a person's white blood cells to kill lymphoma cells.

PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of interleukin-2 in treating patients who have mycosis fungoides or Sezary syndrome.

OBJECTIVES:

• Determine the response rate in patients with mycosis fungoides or Sezary syndrome treated with interleukin-2 (IL-2).
• Determine the toxicity of this regimen in these patients.

OUTLINE: This is a multicenter study.

Patients receive interleukin-2 subcutaneously for 4 consecutive days a week for 6 consecutive weeks. Treatment repeats every 8 weeks in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Patients who achieve complete response or stable disease continue treatment for 2 courses past best response. Patients who demonstrate a persistent partial response continue treatment in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.

Patients are followed every 3 months for survival.

PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 15-35 patients will be accrued for this study.

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Histologically proven mycosis fungoides or Sezary syndrome

  • Any stage

• Measurable disease with 1 or more indicator lesions

  • Evaluable disease for erythrodermic patients only
• At least 2 weeks since prior therapy, if documented progressive disease (PD)
• At least 4 weeks since prior therapy, if best response achieved without clear evidence of PD

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Age:

• 18 and over

Performance status:

• ECOG 0-2

Life expectancy:

• At least 3 months

Hematopoietic:

• WBC at least 3,000/mm^3
• Absolute granulocyte count at least 1,000/mm^3
• Platelet count at least 100,000/mm^3

Hepatic:

• Bilirubin no greater than 2.2 mg/dL

Renal:

• Creatinine no greater than 2.0 mg/dL

Cardiovascular:

• No New York Heart Association class III or IV heart disease
• No cardiac pacemaker
• No clinically significant peripheral venous insufficiency

Other:

• No other malignancy within the past 5 years except:

  • Treated squamous cell or basal cell skin cancer
  • Treated carcinoma in situ of the cervix
  • Surgically treated other cancer
• Not pregnant or nursing
• Negative pregnancy test
• Fertile patients must use effective contraception
• No active infection
• HIV negative
• No poorly controlled diabetes mellitus

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

Biologic therapy:

• Not specified

Chemotherapy:

• See Disease Characteristics

Endocrine therapy:

• No concurrent steroids

Radiotherapy:

• See Disease Characteristics
• No concurrent radiotherapy

Surgery:

• Not specified

Other:

• No other concurrent proven or investigational antineoplastic therapy