PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS: Age: 18 and over Performance status: Karnofsky 60-100% Life expectancy: Greater than 8 weeks Hematopoietic: Absolute neutrophil count greater than 1,000/mm3 Hemoglobin greater than 10.0 g/dL Platelet count greater than 100,000/mm3 Hepatic: Bilirubin less than 1.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN) SGOT or SGPT less than 2.5 times ULN Renal: Not specified Other: Not pregnant or nursing Negative pregnancy test Fertile patients must use effective contraception HIV negative No AIDS-related illness No other malignancy within past 5 years, except: Basal or squamous cell carcinoma of the skin Carcinoma in situ of the cervix No psychological, familial, sociological, or geographical conditions that would interfere with study compliance No active infection requiring systemic antibiotics No nonmalignant systemic disease considered to increase medical risk