Exploration into the treatment of cancer with lymphocytes, which are white cells. In the past, patients with cancer have been treated by the removal of white blood cells which were altered while outside the body, and returned to the patient. The hypothesis was that the altered cells would attack and kill the cancer. In most cases these treatments have not worked. This study will attempt to improve this treatment. HER-2/neu peptides, a purified material that is present in cancer cells, and GM-CFS, a white cell growth promoter, will be injected into the thigh to try to train the white blood cells to recognize the cancer. There will be two sets of vaccinations. Following the second set, lymph nodes that contain white blood cells will be surgically removed from the groin. Cyclophosphamide, a chemotherapy drug, will be intravenously injected after recovery from anesthesia. The white cells will be removed from the lymph nodes and treated overnight with the investigational drug combination, bryostatin 1, ionomycin, and interleukin-2. The next day, the cells will be returned to the patient by infusion into a vein and a five day series of injections of interleukin-2 will begin. The patient will have follow-up visits for several weeks. After three or four months following the white blood cell infusion, examinations will be performed to learn if the cancer has shrunk. If the cancer has shrunk or is stable, continuation of vaccinations, with or without another round of lymph node harvest, and white blood cell treatment, may occur.
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