RFT5-dgA Immunotoxin in Treating Patients With Relapsed or Refractory Cutaneous T-Cell Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS: * Histologically confirmed cutaneous T-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (CTCL) * Relapsed or refractory disease, meeting 1 of the following criteria: * Progression of disease following 2 prior chemotherapies * Failure to respond to the second prior chemotherapy * Measurable disease PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS: * ECOG performance status 0-2 * Life expectancy \> 3 months * Serum creatinine \< 1.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN) * Serum AST/ALT \< 2.5 times ULN * Total bilirubin ≤ 2.0 mg/dL (\< 3.0 mg/dL in patients with Gilbert syndrome) * WBC count ≥ 3,000/mm³ * Platelet count ≥ 100,000/mm³ * Serum albumin \> 2.5 g/dL * LVEF ≥ 45% by 2-D ECHO or MUGA scan * Human antimurine antibody \< 1 μg/mL * Patients with a history of electrocardiogram abnormalities, symptoms of cardiac ischemia, or arrhythmias must have a normal cardiac stress test (i.e., stress thallium, stress MUGA, dobutamine echocardiogram, or other stress test) * Must be willing to undergo venipuncture and central line placement * Not pregnant or nursing * Negative pregnancy test * Fertile patients must use effective contraception * No HBV surface antigen, HCV, or HIV antibody positivity * No autoimmune disease or immunodeficiency (i.e., HIV) * No history of uncontrolled concurrent illness including, but not limited to, any of the following: * Ongoing or active infection * Ongoing or active cardiac disease (i.e., congestive heart failure, unstable angina pectoris, or cardiac arrhythmia) * Psychiatric illness and/or social situation that would preclude study compliance * No other malignancies except treated basal cell or squamous cell carcinoma of the skin, or treated carcinoma in situ of the cervix PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY: * See Disease Characteristics * More than 3 weeks since prior systemic therapy for CTCL * More than 6 months since prior chronic steroid therapy or chronic anti-coagulation therapy * No prior therapy with anti-CD25 immunotoxin IMTOX25 and/or Ontak * No other concurrent cancer chemotherapy, experimental therapy, investigational agent, or immunomodulating agent (including steroids)