Inclusion Criteria

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

- Histologically confirmed squamous cell carcinoma of the oropharynx, hypopharynx, or
larynx

- Diagnosis based on the primary lesion and/or lymph nodes

- Stage III or IV disease (T2, N2-3, M0 or T3-4, any N, M0)

- No primary tumor of the oral cavity, nasopharynx, sinuses, or salivary glands

- No distant metastasis by chest x-ray, CT scan, or PET/CT scan within the past 6 weeks

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

- Zubrod performance status 0-1

- ANC > 1,500/mm^3

- Platelet count > 100,000/mm^3

- Hemoglobin > 9.0 g/dL (transfusion or other intervention to achieve hemoglobin > 8.0
g/dL allowed)

- Bilirubin ≤ 1.5 mg/dL

- AST, ALT, and AP ≤ 2.5 times upper limit of normal

- Serum creatinine ≤ 1.5 mg/dL

- Creatinine clearance ≥ 50 mL/min

- None of the following electrolyte abnormalities grade 3-4 by CTCAE v 3.0:

- Calcium < 7 mg/dL or > 12.5 mg/dL

- Glucose < 40 mg/dL or > 250 mg/dL

- Magnesium < 0.9 mg/dL or > 3 mg/dL

- Potassium < 3 mmol/L or > 6 mmol/L

- Sodium < 130 mmol/L or > 155 mmol/L

- Not pregnant or nursing

- Negative pregnancy test

- Fertile patients must use effective contraception

- No other prior invasive malignancy, except for nonmelanomatous skin cancer, unless
disease-free for ≥ 3 years

- No prior allergic reaction to study drugs

- No active cardiac disease, defined as any of the following:

- Unstable angina

- Uncontrolled hypertension

- Myocardial infarction within the past 6 months (unless successfully treated with
coronary artery bypass graft or percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty)

- Uncontrolled arrhythmia

- Congestive heart failure

- Three or more heart-related hospitalizations within the past year

- No severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease requiring ≥ 3 hospitalizations within
the past year

- No AIDS

- No pre-existing peripheral sensory neuropathy ≥ grade 2

- No concurrent medical illnesses that would impair patient tolerance to therapy or
limit survival

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

- No prior systemic chemotherapy for this cancer

- Prior systemic chemotherapy for a different cancer allowed

- No prior radiotherapy to the region of this cancer that would result in overlap of
radiotherapy fields

- No prior initial surgical treatment (excluding diagnostic biopsy of the primary site
or nodal sampling of neck disease)

- At least 48 hours since prior and no concurrent granulocytic growth factors (e.g.,
filgrastim [G-CSF]) during radiotherapy

- No concurrent erythropoietic growth factors (e.g., darbepoetin, erythropoietin)