DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Diagnosis of metastatic cancer

• Tumor overexpresses p53 as assessed by immunohistochemistry (i.e., ≥ 5% tumor cells stain positive for p53)

  • Biopsy must be available to evaluate p53 expression
• HLA-A*0201 positive

• Progressive or recurrent disease after prior standard therapy for metastatic disease

  • Patients with melanoma or renal cell cancer must have previously received aldesleukin
  • Patients with other histologies, not including hematologic malignancies, must have previously received first-line and second-line or higher systemic standard therapy (or effective salvage chemotherapy regimens)

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

• ECOG performance status 0 or 1
• Life expectancy > 3 months
• Absolute neutrophil count > 1,000/mm^3
• WBC > 3,000/mm^3
• Platelet count > 100,000/mm^3
• Hemoglobin > 8.0 g/dL
• Serum ALT/AST ≤ 2.5 times upper limit of normal
• Serum creatinine ≤ 1.6 mg/dL
• Total bilirubin ≤ 2.0 mg/dL (< 3.0 mg/dL in patients with Gilbert's syndrome)
• Not pregnant or nursing
• Negative pregnancy test
• Fertile patients must use effective contraception during and for 4 months after completion of study treatment
• Patients who have previously received ipilimumab or ticilimumab must have a normal colonoscopy with normal colonic biopsies
• HIV antibody negative
• Hepatitis B antigen and hepatitis C antibody negative (unless antigen negative)
• No primary immunodeficiency (e.g., severe combined immunodeficiency disease)
• No active systemic infections
• No history of severe immediate hypersensitivity reaction to any of the agents used in this study
• No coagulation disorders
• No myocardial infarction or cardiac arrhythmias
• No history of coronary revascularization
• No obstructive or restrictive pulmonary disease
• No contraindications for high-dose aldesleukin administration

• LVEF ≥ 45% in patients meeting any of the following criteria:

  • History of ischemic heart disease, chest pain, or clinically significant atrial and/or ventricular arrhythmias including, but not limited to, atrial fibrillation, ventricular tachycardia, or second- or third-degree heart block
  • At least 60 years of age

• FEV_1 > 60% predicted in patients meeting any of the following criteria:

  • Prolonged history of cigarette smoking (> 20 pack/year within the past 2 years)
  • Symptoms of respiratory dysfunction
• No other major medical illness of the cardiovascular, respiratory, or immune system

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

• See Disease Characteristics
• Recovered from prior therapy
• More than 4 weeks since prior and no concurrent systemic steroid therapy
• More than 4 weeks since other prior systemic therapy
• More than 6 weeks since prior ipilimumab