OBJECTIVES: Primary * Determine the frequency of complete response in patients with stage III or IV melanoma who have achieved either a partial response or stable disease after prior systemic chemotherapy and are treated with maintenance biotherapy comprising interleukin-2 and sargramostim (GM-CSF). Secondary * Determine the time to progression in patients treated with this regimen. * Determine the effects of this regimen on lymphocyte subsets in these patients. OUTLINE: Patients are stratified according to response to prior systemic chemotherapy (stable disease \[SD\] vs partial response \[PR\]). Patients receive sargramostim (GM-CSF) subcutaneously (SC) on days 1-14 and low-dose interleukin-2 (IL-2) SC on days 1-5, 8-12, 15-19, and 22-26. Treatment repeats every 28 days for up to 12 courses in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Patients also receive pulses of high-dose IL-2\* IV continuously over 42 hours on days 1 and 2 of courses 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10 and 12. NOTE: \*Low-dose IL-2 and GM-CSF are not administered on days 1 and 2 of high-dose IL-2 administration Patients who continue to have SD or a PR after 12 courses of therapy may continue to receive treatment with GM-CSF and low-dose IL-2 as described above and high-dose IL-2 on days 1 and 2 of every third course. PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 20-58 patients (10-29 per stratum) will be accrued for this study.
DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS: * Histologically confirmed melanoma * Stage III or IV disease * No primary ocular melanoma * Stable disease (SD) or partial response (PR) after prior systemic chemotherapy completed at least 4 weeks ago * Patients whose second post-chemotherapy evaluation (performed at least 4 weeks after the first evaluation that demonstrated SD or PR AND within 2 weeks before study entry) of disease demonstrates continued tumor shrinkage are not eligible * Patients whose second evaluation shows disease progression are eligible unless one of the following is true: * Lactic dehydrogenase (LDH) ≥ 2 times upper limit of normal (ULN) * LDH \> ULN AND is higher than the patient's highest value before systemic chemotherapy * Patient has developed a new tumor measuring \> 1 cm in diameter * Sum of the longest diameters of the existing tumor has increased \> 20% * Evaluable or measurable disease * Not potentially curable by surgery * No active CNS metastases * Solitary brain metastasis allowed if completely resected or completely ablated with radiosurgery more than 1 month before study entry PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS: Age * 16 and over Performance status * Karnofsky 60-100% Life expectancy * Not specified Hematopoietic * WBC ≥ 3,000/mm\^3 * Platelet count ≥ 100,000/mm\^3 * No active bleeding Hepatic * See Disease Characteristics * Bilirubin ≤ 2.0 mg/dL Renal * Creatinine ≤ 1.2 mg/dL Cardiovascular * Patients ≥ 50 years of age OR those with one or more cardiac risk factors must demonstrate one of the following: * Normal exercise stress test * Normal stress thallium test * Normal comparable cardiac ischemia evaluation * LVEF ≥ 40% Other * No active infection requiring treatment * No concurrent medical or psychiatric condition that would increase the potential toxicity of study treatment * Not pregnant or nursing * Negative pregnancy test * Fertile patients must use effective barrier contraception PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY: Biologic therapy * No other concurrent antineoplastic biologic response modifier therapy * No concurrent antineoplastic vaccine therapy Chemotherapy * See Disease Characteristics * No concurrent antineoplastic chemotherapy Endocrine therapy * No concurrent steroidal antiemetics * No concurrent systemic corticosteroids Radiotherapy * See Disease Characteristics * No concurrent antineoplastic radiotherapy Surgery * See Disease Characteristics * Recovered from prior surgery * Surgery within the past 4 weeks allowed provided there is no evidence of disease progression Other * More than 4 weeks since prior therapy for melanoma * No other concurrent antineoplastic experimental therapy