DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Histologically and clinically confirmed multiple myeloma

  • Relapsed and/or refractory after chemotherapy or transplantation

    • Patients with prior allogeneic transplantation must not have evidence of active graft-vs-host disease requiring immune suppression

• Measurable disease defined by quantitative immune globulin levels in serum and/or urine and bone marrow plasmacytosis

  • Patients with nonsecretory disease are eligible provided at least 1 plasmacytoma lesion is accurately measurable by MRI or CT scan
• No known CNS involvement

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Age

• 18 and over

Performance status

• ECOG 0-2 OR
• Karnofsky 60-100%

Life expectancy

• More than 3 months

Hematopoietic

• See Disease Characteristics
• Absolute neutrophil count at least 1,000/mm^3*
• Platelet count at least 50,000/mm^3* NOTE: *Unless secondary to bone marrow plasmacytosis (more than 80% involvement)

Hepatic

• Bilirubin less than 2 times normal
• AST/ALT no greater than 3 times upper limit of normal

Renal

• Creatinine no greater than 2 mg/dL

Cardiovascular

• No symptomatic congestive heart failure
• No unstable angina pectoris
• No cardiac arrhythmia

Other

• Seizures allowed if under adequate control
• No severe skin reactions from prior thalidomide
• No prior allergic reactions attributed to agents used in this study
• No sensory or motor neuropathy grade II or greater
• No other uncontrolled concurrent illness that would preclude study therapy
• No ongoing or active infection
• No psychiatric illness or social situations that would preclude study compliance
• Not pregnant or nursing
• Negative pregnancy test
• Fertile patients must use 2 effective methods of contraception for 1 month before, during, and for 1 month after study participation

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

Biologic therapy

• See Disease Characteristics
• See Chemotherapy
• At least 6 weeks since prior thalidomide

Chemotherapy

• See Disease Characteristics
• No more than 4 prior chemotherapy regimens, including autologous and/or allogeneic stem cell transplantation regimens
• At least 4 weeks since prior chemotherapy (6 weeks for nitrosoureas or mitomycin) and recovered

Endocrine therapy

• Concurrent continuous steroids allowed for chronic treatment of disorders other than myeloma

Radiotherapy

• Not specified

Surgery

• Not specified

Other

• No prior oblimersen
• No other concurrent anticancer therapies or investigational agents
• No concurrent combination antiretroviral therapy for HIV-positive patients