Vaccine Therapy in Treating Patients With Head and Neck Cancer

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Histologically confirmed squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck

  • Resectable disease
  • Any stage allowed
• Successfully treated with curative intent

• Recurrent disease allowed provided the following criteria are met:

  • No evidence of disease
  • At least 6 weeks since prior antitumor therapy

• Positive for HLA-A2.1

  • HLA-DR4 allele status known
• Tumor tissue must be available
• No active brain metastases

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

• ECOG performance status 0 or 1
• Life expectancy ≥ 6 months
• Granulocyte count > 2,500/mm^3
• Lymphocyte count > 700/mm^3
• Platelet count > 100,000/mm^3
• Bilirubin < 0.2 mg/dL
• Creatinine < 0.2 mg/dL
• Hemoglobin > 8 g/dL
• Not pregnant or nursing
• Negative pregnancy test
• Fertile patients must use effective contraception for ≥ 1 week before, during, and for ≥ 2 weeks after study completion
• No systemic infection or coagulation disorders
• No psychiatric disturbances that would preclude obtaining informed consent or safe conduct of protocol
• HIV negative
• Hepatitis B surface antigen and hepatitis C antibody negative
• No other active malignancies

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

• See Disease Characteristics

• At least 6 weeks since prior adjuvant radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy

  • No time restriction for prior curative therapy
• No concurrent pharmacological doses of steroids in any form (topical or systemic)