Rituximab and Cyclophosphamide Followed by Vaccine Therapy in Treating Patients With Relapsed Hodgkin Lymphoma

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Histologically confirmed classical Hodgkin's lymphoma

• Relapsed disease with achievement of at least a partial response or a metabolic response to most recent salvage therapy

  • No primary induction failure, defined as disease progression during or within 2 months after completion of first-line therapy

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Age

• 18 and over

Performance status

• ECOG 0-1

Life expectancy

• Not specified

Hematopoietic

• Absolute neutrophil count ≥ 1,000/mm^3
• Platelet count ≥ 75,000/mm^3

Hepatic

• Bilirubin ≤ 2.0 mg/dL* NOTE: *Unless due to lymphoma or Gilbert's syndrome

Renal

• Creatinine ≤ 2.0 mg/dL

Cardiovascular

• Ejection fraction ≥ 45% by echocardiogram or MUGA

Pulmonary

• DLCO ≥ 50% of predicted (corrected for alveolar volume)

Immunologic

• No known HIV positivity
• No active infection requiring oral or IV antibiotics
• No autoimmune or other disease requiring long-term systemic steroids or other long-term immunosuppressants

Other

• Not pregnant or nursing
• Negative pregnancy test
• Fertile patients must use effective contraception
• Able to tolerate high-dose therapy
• No other malignancy within the past 3 years except basal cell or squamous cell skin cancer or carcinoma in situ of the cervix

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

Biologic therapy

• Not specified

Chemotherapy

• No prior bone marrow transplantation

Endocrine therapy

• Not specified

Radiotherapy

• Concurrent radiotherapy for disease progression after high-dose cyclophosphamide allowed at the discretion of the principal investigator

Surgery

• Not specified