Aldesleukin With or Without Ziv-Aflibercept in Treating Patients With Stage III-IV Melanoma That Cannot Be Removed by Surgery

Inclusion Criteria

• Patients must have histologically or cytologically confirmed metastatic melanoma (includes American Joint Committee on Cancer [AJCC] stage IV or advanced/inoperable stage III; also includes patients with a history of lower stage melanoma and subsequent recurrent metastatic disease that is either locally/regionally advanced/inoperable disease or distant metastases)
• Patients must have measurable disease, defined as at least one lesion that can be accurately measured in at least one dimension (longest diameter to be recorded) as > 10 mm with computed tomography (CT) scan or clinically (must be measurable with calipers) according to RECIST version 1.1
• Patients must be free of brain metastasis by contrast-enhanced CT/magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans within 4 weeks prior to enrollment; if known to have prior brain metastases, must not have evidence of active brain disease after definitive therapy (surgery, radiation therapy, or stereotactic radiosurgery) on two successive MRI evaluations at least 3 months apart (one of which is = 70%)
• Leukocytes >= 3,000/mcL
• Absolute neutrophil count >= 1,500/mcL
• Platelets >= 100,000/mcL
• Total bilirubin within 1.5 x institutional upper limit of normal
• Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase [SGOT])/alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase [SGPT]) = = 60 mL/min/1.73 m^2 for patients with creatinine level above institutional normal
• Urine protein should be screened by urinalysis for urine protein creatinine ratio (UPCR); for UPCR > 1, a 24-hour urine protein should be obtained and the level should be 1.5 are eligible provided that both of the following criteria are met:
• The patient has an in-range INR (usually between 2 and 3) on a stable dose of oral anticoagulant or on a stable dose of low molecular weight heparin
• The patient has no active bleeding or pathological condition that carries a high risk of bleeding (e.g., tumor involving major vessels or known varices)
• Forced expiratory volume (FEV) 1 > 2.0 liters or > 75% of predicted for height and age (pulmonary function test [PFTs] are required for patients over 50 years old or with significant pulmonary or smoking history)
• No evidence of congestive heart failure, symptoms of coronary artery disease, myocardial infarction less than 6 months prior to entry, serious cardiac arrhythmias, or unstable angina
• Patients who are over 40 years old or have had previous myocardial infarction greater than 6 months prior to study entry or have significant cardiac family history (coronary artery disease [CAD] or serious arrhythmias) will be required to have a negative or low probability cardiac stress test (for example, thallium stress test, stress multi-gated acquisition scan [MUGA], stress echocardiography [echo], or exercise stress test) for cardiac ischemia within 8 weeks prior to registration
• An echocardiogram should be performed at baseline in all patients; ejection fraction (EF) from baseline echocardiogram must be within the institutional limits of normal as determined by the reading cardiologist; if the baseline cardiac stress test incorporates an echocardiogram, then this will not need to be done again at baseline
• No history of cerebrovascular accident or transient ischemic attacks within the past 6 months
• Women of child-bearing potential and men must agree to use adequate contraception (hormonal or barrier method of birth control; abstinence) prior to study entry, for the duration of study participation, and for at least 6 months after completion of study therapy; should a woman become pregnant or suspect she is pregnant while participating in this study, she should inform her treating physician immediately
• Women should not be lactating and, if of childbearing age, should have a negative pregnancy test (beta-human chorionic gonadotropin [b-HCG] test; serum or urine, minimum sensitivity 25 IU/L or equivalent units of b-HCG) within