OBJECTIVES:~Determine the clinical efficacy of rituximab and interleukin-2 in patients with relapsed or refractory intermediate- or high-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.~Determine the 2-year progression-free survival of patients treated with this regimen.~Determine the safety of this regimen in these patients.~Correlate response with natural killer cell numbers and rituximab, interleukin-2 (IL-2), and soluble IL-2 receptor levels in patients treated with this regimen.~OUTLINE: This is an open-label, multicenter study.~Patients receive rituximab IV once weekly on weeks 1-4 and interleukin-2 subcutaneously 3 times weekly on weeks 2-9. Treatment continues in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.~Patients are followed every 12 weeks for 2 years.~PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 50-100 patients will be accrued for this study.
RATIONALE: Monoclonal antibodies such as rituximab can locate cancer cells and either kill them or deliver cancer-killing substances to them without harming normal cells. Interleukin-2 may stimulate a person's white blood cells to kill cancer cells. Combining rituximab with interleukin-2 may kill more cancer cells.~PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of combining rituximab with interleukin-2 in treating patients who have relapsed or refractory intermediate- or high-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.