Lenalidomide and Vaccine Therapy in Treating Patients With Relapsed or Refractory Multiple Myeloma

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Diagnosis of multiple myeloma (MM) meeting all of the following criteria:

  • Relapsed or refractory disease
  • Previously received ≥ 2 courses of antimyeloma treatment
• Measurable levels of myeloma paraprotein in serum (> 0.5 g/dL) or urine (> 0.2 g/24-hour urine collection) OR serum-free light-chain disease

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

• ECOG performance status 0-2
• Absolute neutrophil count ≥ 1,000/mm^3
• Platelet count ≥ 75,000/mm^3
• Creatinine ≤ 2.5 mg/dL
• Bilirubin ≤ 2.0 mg/dL
• AST and ALT ≤ 3 times upper limit of normal
• Not pregnant or nursing
• Negative pregnancy test
• Fertile patients must use 2 methods of highly effective contraception ≥ 4 weeks before, during, and for 4 weeks after completion of study therapy
• No other malignancy within the past 5 years except treated basal cell or squamous cell carcinoma of the skin or carcinoma in situ of the cervix or breast
• No serious medical condition, laboratory abnormality, or psychiatric illness that would preclude study treatment or put patient at unacceptable risk

• No known hypersensitivity to thalidomide or lenalidomide

  • No development of erythema nodosum in the presence of a reaction characterized by a desquamating rash while taking thalidomide or similar drugs
• No known hypersensitivity to any component of the pneumococcal polyvalent vaccine, including diphtheria toxin or CRM 197
• No known HIV positivity
• No infectious hepatitis type A, B, or C

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

• See Disease Characteristics
• No more than 3 prior treatment regimens for MM
• More than 6 months since prior lenalidomide
• More than 28 days since prior experimental drug or therapy
• More than 1 month since prior systemic antimyeloma therapy
• More than 1 month since prior and no concurrent systemic corticosteroids
• No other concurrent anticancer agents or treatments or investigational agents
• No concurrent thalidomide
• No concurrent radiotherapy
• No other concurrent immune therapy or immunomodulatory agents