Vaccine Therapy in Treating Patients With Advanced or Metastatic Cancer

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS: * Histologically confirmed advanced or metastatic malignancy expressing CEA * Metastatic disease meeting one of the following criteria: * Measurable or nonmeasurable * History of metastases but no current evidence of disease, meeting one of the following criteria: * Unresectable peritoneal or lymph node metastases that cannot be detected by imaging * Treated or resected metastatic disease considered at high risk of recurrence (predicted 5-year disease-free survival of less than 50%) * Must have completed treatment that rendered no evidence of disease within the past year * CEA-expressing malignancy is defined by any of the following: * Immunohistochemical staining (at least 50% of the tumor has at least a moderate intensity of staining) * CEA level in peripheral blood greater than 2.5 µg/L * Tumor known to be universally CEA positive (e.g., colon and rectal cancer) * Received prior therapy with possible survival benefit or refused such therapy * Prior resection of brain metastases allowed provided no metastasis by CT scan or MRI of the brain within 1 month of enrollment * Hormone receptor status: * Not specified PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS: Age * 18 and over Sex * Male or female Menopausal status * Not specified Performance status * Karnofsky 70-100% Life expectancy * More than 6 months Hematopoietic * WBC at least 3,000/mm\^3 * Absolute lymphocyte count at least 1,000/mm\^3 * Platelet count at least 100,0…