Medroxyprogesterone or Interferon and/or Aldesleukin in Treating Patients With Metastatic Kidney Cancer

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Histologically confirmed metastatic renal cell adenocarcinoma, meeting 1 of the following criteria:

• More than 1 metastatic site and good performance status (Karnofsky score 80-100%)

• Sole metastatic site with Karnofsky score = 80%

• Karnofsky 90% or 100% not eligible

• No combination of several metastatic sites and liver metastases and a time interval from primary tumor to metastases of < 1 year

• Nonmeasurable disease and/or few numbers of lesions must be confirmed histologically and as progressive disease

• The following metastases are allowed:

• Lung with or without mediastinum lymph nodes

• Bone

• Pleura (solid or liquid with positive cytology)

• Thoracic lymph nodes

• Abdominal lymph nodes

• Superficial lymph nodes

• Liver

• Subcutaneous skin/tissue

• Contralateral kidney

• Nephrectomy site

• Other organs

• Prior metastases allowed provided the following criteria are met:

• Evidence of progressive disease within the past 3 months

• Metastases evaluated by noninvasive methods

• No evidence of active brain metastases

• Prior brain metastases allowed provided all of the following criteria are met:

• Disease is stable

• Reductive therapy (surgery or radiotherapy) completed at least 3 weeks prior to study entry

• Metastases have not progressed (confirmed by CT scan or MRI)

• No concurrent corticosteroids required

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

• See Disease Characteristics

• Creatinine < 1.8 mg/dL

• Hematocrit ≥ 30%

• WBC ≥ 4,000/mm^3

• Platelet count ≥ 120,000/mm^3

• Bilirubin normal

• LVEF ≥ 50%

• Not pregnant or nursing

• Negative pregnancy test

• Fertile patients must use effective contraception

• No HIV positivity

• No severe infection requiring antibiotic therapy

• No chronic hepatitis

• No severe lung, liver or kidney condition that would preclude study treatment

• No hepatitis B surface antigen positivity

• No severe neuropsychiatric condition or epilepsy

• No serious thromboembolitic disorder

• No severe cardiac dysfunction (e.g., congestive heart failure, uncontrolled hypertension, serious arrhythmia, or coronary disease)

• No other prior or concurrent primary malignancies except for basal cell skin cancer or carcinoma in situ of the cervix

• No geographical, psychological, or familial condition that would preclude study participation

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

• More than 6 weeks since prior wide-field radiotherapy

• No prior systemic chemotherapy

• No prior organ transplantation

• No prior cytokines

• No concurrent hormonal therapy

• No concurrent anticancer chemotherapy

• No concurrent corticosteroids

• No other concurrent immunotherapy

• No other concurrent investigational agents or therapies