Inclusion Criteria

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

- Histologically confirmed adenocarcinoma of the prostate meeting one of the following
criteria after undergoing radical prostatectomy:

- pT2 with Gleason score 4+3 or 8-10 and positive margins in the radical
prostatectomy specimen

- Any pT3a tumor with Gleason score ≥ 4+3

- pT3b tumor with Gleason score ≥ 7

- Negative lymph nodes at histological examination (N0)

- Patients with a preoperative prostate-specific antigen (PSA) ≥ 10.0 ng/mL should have
undergone a lymph node dissection

- Postoperative PSA must be < 0.5 ng/mL

- Considered at high risk for recurrent disease

- No metastatic (M0) disease

- Negative bone scan

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

- WHO/ECOG performance status 0-1

- Hemoglobin ≥ 11.0 g/dL

- Neutrophil count ≥ 1,500/mm³

- Platelet count ≥ 150,000/mm³

- Creatinine ≤ 1.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN)

- Bilirubin normal

- AST and ALT ≤ 1.5 times ULN

- Alkaline phosphatase < 1.5 times ULN

- No active untreated infectious disease (e.g., tuberculosis or methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus)

- No active gastric ulcer

- No known hypersensitivity to polysorbate 80

- No symptomatic peripheral neuropathy ≥ grade 2

- No myocardial infarction within the past 6 months

- No other unstable cardiovascular disease within the past 6 months

- No other serious illness or medical condition

- No altered psychological or physical state that would preclude study compliance

- No other malignancy within the past 5 years except basal cell or squamous cell skin
cancer

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

- See Disease Characteristics

- No prior hormonal therapy (e.g., luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone analogues
and/or antiandrogens) affecting prostate cancer cells

- No prior radiotherapy to the pelvis

- No prior chemotherapy

- More than 6 months since prior systemic corticosteroids

- No other concurrent anticancer therapy or investigational drugs