Inclusion Criteria

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

- Histologically or cytologically confirmed adenocarcinoma of the prostate

- Metastatic or locally recurrent disease

- Not curable with standard therapy

- Systemic chemotherapy is indicated, due to disease progression while receiving
androgen-ablative therapy (i.e., hormone-refractory disease)

- Disease progression is defined as development of new metastatic lesions OR ≥ 2
consecutive rises in prostate-specific antigen (PSA) over a reference value

- Androgen ablative therapy must have included either medical or surgical
castration

- Castrate level of testosterone (≤ 1.7 nmol/L) required if treated with
medical androgen ablation

- Patients with documented disease progression while on peripheral antiandrogens
must also have documented PSA progression after stopping antiandrogens

- PSA ≥ 5 ng/mL

- No known CNS metastases

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Performance status

- ECOG 0-2

Life expectancy

- At least 12 weeks

Hematopoietic

- Absolute granulocyte count ≥ 1,500/mm^3

- Platelet count ≥ 100,000/mm^3

- No known bleeding disorder

Hepatic

- PT and PTT or INR normal

- Bilirubin normal

- AST and ALT ≤ 1.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN)

Renal

- Creatinine ≤ 1.5 times ULN

Cardiovascular

- No significant cardiac dysfunction

Other

- Fertile patients must use effective contraception

- No pre-existing peripheral neuropathy ≥ grade 2

- No active, uncontrolled infection

- No significant neurological disorder that would preclude study compliance

- No history of other malignancies within the past 5 years except adequately treated
nonmelanoma skin cancer

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

Chemotherapy

- No prior chemotherapy except estramustine and recovered

- No other concurrent chemotherapy

Endocrine therapy

- See Disease Characteristics

- At least 4 weeks since prior antiandrogens (6 weeks for bicalutamide)

- Luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) agonist therapy must be continued* or
restarted* during study treatment to maintain castrate levels of testosterone NOTE:
*For patients receiving LHRH agonist therapy prior to study entry

Radiotherapy

- At least 4 weeks since prior external beam radiotherapy except low-dose,
nonmyelosuppressive radiotherapy

- Must have had less than 25% of marrow irradiated

- No prior strontium chloride Sr 89

- No concurrent radiotherapy except low-dose, nonmyelosuppressive, palliative
radiotherapy

Surgery

- At least 2 weeks since prior major surgery

Other

- At least 4 weeks since prior investigational agent

- At least 4 weeks since prior anticancer therapy

- No concurrent therapeutic anticoagulants except low-dose oral anticoagulants (i.e., 1
mg warfarin) or low molecular weight heparin

- No other concurrent investigational agents

- No other concurrent cytotoxic therapy