PRIMARY OBJECTIVES:~I. Determine the efficacy of interferon alfa and thalidomide, in terms of response rate, time to progression, and overall survival, in patients with relapsed or refractory low-grade follicular non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.~II. Determine the quantitative and qualitative toxic effects of this regimen in this patient population.~III. Correlate ancillary biological studies with clinical endpoints in these patients treated with this regimen.~OUTLINE:~Patients receive interferon alfa subcutaneously every 12 hours and oral thalidomide daily in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Patients are followed every 6 months until disease progression.
Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of combining thalidomide with interferon alfa in treating patients who have relapsed or refractory non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Thalidomide may stop the growth of cancer by stopping blood flow to the tumor. Interferon alfa may interfere with the growth of cancer cells. Combining thalidomide with interferon alfa may kill more tumor cells