Monoclonal Antibody Therapy in Treating Patients With Prostate Cancer

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Histologically confirmed prostate cancer

• Disease progression after prior castration

  • At least 3 rising PSA levels at least 1 week apart OR 2 rising levels at least 4 weeks apart
• New osseous lesions on bone scan and/or more than 25% increase in bidimensionally measurable soft tissue disease or appearance of new sites of disease by CT scan or MRI

• Testosterone no greater than 50 ng/mL

  • Medical therapy (e.g., gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogues) to maintain castrate level of testosterone should continue in the absence of surgical orchiectomy
• Progression of disease after discontinuation of prior anti-androgen therapy
• No requirement for palliative therapy within the past 12 weeks
• No active CNS or epidural primary tumor OR active CNS or epidural metastases

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Age:

• 18 and over

Performance status:

• Karnofsky 60-100%

Life expectancy:

• Not specified

Hematopoietic:

• WBC greater than 3,500/mm3
• Platelet count greater than 100,000/mm3

Hepatic:

• Bilirubin less than 1.5 mg/dL
• Gamma-glutamyl-transferase less than upper limit of normal (ULN)
• AST less than ULN
• PT less than 14 seconds
• No prior autoimmune hepatitis

Renal:

• Creatinine less than 1.5 mg/dL OR
• Creatinine clearance greater than 60 mL/min

Cardiovascular:

• No clinically significant cardiac disease (New York Heart Association class III or IV)

Pulmonary:

• No severe debilitating pulmonary disease

Other:

• Fertile patients must use effective contraception
• No active uncontrolled infection or infection requiring IV antibiotics
• No prior autoimmune disease

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

Biologic therapy:

• No prior murine protein for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes
• No other concurrent anticancer immunotherapy

Chemotherapy:

• At least 4 weeks since prior chemotherapy and recovered
• No concurrent anticancer chemotherapy

Endocrine therapy:

• See Disease Characteristics
• No concurrent anticancer hormonal therapy

Radiotherapy:

• At least 4 weeks since prior radiotherapy and recovered
• Concurrent radiotherapy to localized sites of disease (e.g., bone) allowed if the site does not contain sole measurable lesion

Surgery:

• See Disease Characteristics
• No concurrent surgery

Other:

• Recovered from all prior therapy
• At least 4 weeks since prior therapeutic investigational anticancer drugs
• At least 4 weeks since prior participation in therapeutic clinical trial with an experimental drug
• No prior diagnostic ProstaScint, Myoscint, or Oncoscint scans
• No other concurrent therapeutic investigational anticancer agents
• No concurrent participation in other therapeutic clinical trial with an experimental drug