Chemotherapy Followed by Peripheral Stem Cell Transplantation in Treating Patients With Metastatic or Unresectable Kidney Cancer

OBJECTIVES:

• Determine the overall response rate and overall and disease-free survival of patients with unresectable or metastatic renal cell cancer treated with fludarabine and cyclophosphamide followed by allogeneic peripheral blood stem cell transplantation.
• Determine the toxicity and treatment-related mortality of this regimen in these patients.
• Determine the percentage of donor chimerism in patients treated with this regimen.

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Histologically confirmed renal cell carcinoma (RCC)

• Clear cell or papillary RCC
• Granular tumors with sarcomatoid features
• No purely sarcomatoid RCC, chromophobic RCC, or oncocytoma
• No transitional cell carcinoma of the renal pelvis and collecting systems
• Metastatic or unresectable disease
• At least 1 measurable lesion

• At least 20 mm by conventional techniques OR at least 10 mm by spiral CT scan
• The following are not considered measurable:

• Bone lesions
• Leptomeningeal disease
• Ascites
• Pleural/pericardial effusion
• Lymphangitis cutis/pulmonis
• Abdominal masses that are not confirmed and followed by imaging techniques
• Cystic lesions
• Primary bladder masses
• Progressive disease after interferon alfa and/or interleukin-2 for metastatic RCC OR intolerance to these therapies
• No prior or concurrent CNS metastases

• Negative MRI of the brain within the past 28 days
• Must have HLA-identical (6/6) sibling donor

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Age:

• 60 and under

Performance status:

• ECOG 0-1

Life expectancy:

• More than 6 months

Hematopoietic:

• Granulocyte count at least 1,500/mm^3
• Platelet count at least 100,000/mm^3

Hepatic:

• Bilirubin no greater than 2 times upper limit of normal (ULN)
• AST no greater than 3 times ULN

Renal:

• Creatinine clearance at least 40 mL/min

Cardiovascular:

• LVEF at least 45% by MUGA or echocardiogram

Pulmonary:

• DLCO greater than 40% of predicted (corrected for hemoglobin level)
• No symptomatic pulmonary disease

Other:

• Not pregnant or nursing
• Negative pregnancy test
• Fertile patients must use effective contraception
• HIV negative
• No known hypersensitivity to E. coli-derived products
• No uncontrolled diabetes mellitus
• No active serious infection
• No other concurrent malignancy except non-melanoma skin cancer or other malignancy that has less than a 30% risk of relapse after completion of therapy

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

Biologic therapy:

• See Disease Characteristics
• No concurrent sargramostim (GM-CSF)
• Concurrent epoetin alfa allowed

Chemotherapy:

• No other concurrent chemotherapy

Endocrine therapy:

• At least 28 days since prior hormonal therapy (e.g., megestrol, corticosteroids, or anti-estrogen therapy)
• Concurrent steroids allowed for adrenal failure, graft-versus-host disease, or other nondisease-related conditions (e.g., insulin for diabetes)

Radiotherapy:

• At least 14 days since prior radiotherapy

Surgery:

• At least 14 days since prior surgery

Other:

• At least 28 days since prior systemic therapy for RCC
• Recovered from prior therapy