Inclusion Criteria

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

- Histologically confirmed ovarian epithelial or primary peritoneal cavity cancer

- Recurrent, relapsed, or persistent disease meeting 1 or more of the following
criteria:

- Patients with a positive second-look laparotomy who are not candidates for
higher priority GOG protocols

- Largest mass of recurrent disease ≤ 0.2 cm achieved by surgery or
chemotherapy

- Achievement of complete response to 1 prior regimen of platinum-based
chemotherapy with relapse > 6 months from last chemotherapy

- Achievement of partial response to 1 platinum-based chemotherapy regimen
prior to study

- Histological proof of disease recurrence with or without a rising serum CA-125
level (relapsed or recurrent disease)

- The following histological cell types are allowed:

- Clear-cell adenocarcinoma

- Endometrioid adenocarcinoma

- Mixed epithelial carcinoma

- Mucinous adenocarcinoma

- Serous adenocarcinoma

- Undifferentiated carcinoma

- Must have unilateral bone marrow aspirate and biopsy with cytogenetics without
evidence of metastatic ovarian carcinoma by conventional morphology within 1 month of
registration

- Not eligible for GOG-164

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

- ECOG performance status 0-2

- Creatinine ≤ 1.5 mg/dL

- Total bilirubin ≤ 2.0 mg/dL (≤ 5.0 mg/dL with metastatic disease)

- AST ≤ 2 times upper limit of normal (ULN) (≤ 600 units/mL with metastatic disease)

- Alkaline phosphatase ≤ 2 times ULN (unless related to metastatic disease)

- ANC ≥ 1,000/mm^3

- Platelets ≥ 100,000/mm^3

- Cardiac ejection fraction ≥ 45% by rest ECHO or MUGA

- FEV_1 ≥ 50% of predicted

- HIV negative

- No uncontrolled infection

- No severe medical or psychiatric illness, including any of the following:

- Renal failure

- Brittle insulin dependent diabetes mellitus

- Congestive heart failure

- History of myocardial infarction within the past 3 months

- Significant arrhythmia requiring medication

- Poorly controlled hypertension (diastolic blood pressure >100 mm Hg)

- History of hospitalization for severe depression or psychosis

- Significant non-neoplastic pulmonary disease

- Current alcohol or drug abuse.

- Active infection

- Active peptic ulcer disease

- No prior malignancy within the past 5 years except adequately treated basal cell or
squamous cell carcinoma of the skin or in situ cervical carcinoma

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

- See Disease Characteristics

- No more than 1 prior treatment regimen for this cancer

- More than 3 weeks since surgery

- No prior topotecan hydrochloride