Interleukin-12 in Treating Patients With Previously Treated Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma or Hodgkin's Disease

Inclusion Criteria: Previously treated non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (all histologies except lymphoblastic and Burkitt's lymphoma) or Hodgkin's disease Maximum of 4 previous treatment regimens Measurable disease No CNS involvement Performance status - Zubrod 0-1 Performance status - Karnofsky 80-100% At least 12 weeks Platelet count at least 75,000/mm^3 Absolute neutrophil count greater than 1500/mm^3 Lymphocyte count greater than 500/mm^3 Hemoglobin at least 8.0 g/dL Bilirubin less than 1.5 mg/dL SGOT/SGPT less than 2 times normal Creatinine no greater than 1.6 mg/dL Creatinine clearance at least 60 mL/min No severe cardiovascular disease including active ischemic heart disease, congestive heart failure, or major arrhythmias No severe pulmonary disease including dyspnea with moderate to severe exertion HIV negative No active infection Not pregnant or nursing Fertile patients must use adequate contraception No clinically significant autoimmune disease (e.g. rheumatoid arthritis) No clinically significant gastrointestinal bleeding or uncontrolled peptic ulcer No prior allogeneic bone marrow or stem cell transplant At least 3 weeks since prior biologic therapy for lymphoma At least 3 weeks since prior chemotherapy for lymphoma No concurrent steroid therapy At least 3 weeks since prior endocrine therapy for lymphoma At least 3 weeks since prior radiotherapy for lymphoma At least 2 weeks since prior surgery