Vaccine Therapy in Treating Patients With Stage IIB, Stage IIC, Stage III, or Stage IV Melanoma

RATIONALE: Vaccines made from DNA may help the body build an effective immune response to kill tumor cells. Giving the vaccine in different ways may make a stronger immune response and kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: This randomized clinical trial is studying two different ways of giving vaccine therapy to compare how well they work in treating patients with stage IIB, stage IIC, stage III, or stage IV melanoma.