Inclusion Criteria

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

- Histologically confirmed diagnosis of 1 of the following:

- Invasive ovarian epithelial cancer

- Primary peritoneal cavity cancer

- Fallopian tube cancer

- FIGO stage III or IV disease

- The following histologic cell types are allowed:

- Serous adenocarcinoma

- Mucinous adenocarcinoma

- Endometrioid adenocarcinoma

- Clear cell adenocarcinoma

- Transitional cell carcinoma

- Mixed epithelial carcinoma

- Undifferentiated carcinoma

- Adenocarcinoma not otherwise specified

- Malignant Brenner tumor

- The following histologic cell types are not allowed:

- Carcinosarcoma (i.e., malignant mixed Müllerian tumor)

- Borderline epithelial tumors (i.e., low malignant potential or atypical
proliferative tumors)

- Patients with a prior diagnosis of a borderline tumor that was surgically
resected who subsequently develop an unrelated, new, invasive ovarian
epithelial or peritoneal primary cancer are eligible provided patient
received no prior chemotherapy for any ovarian tumor

- Newly diagnosed disease AND planning to receive primary chemotherapy

- Has undergone full surgical staging

- No recurrent invasive ovarian epithelial cancer treated with surgery only (e.g.,
stage IA or IB low-grade lesions)

- No synchronous primary endometrial cancer or prior endometrial cancer unless all of
the following criteria are met:

- Stage IA or IB disease

- Superficial myometrial invasion without vascular or lymphatic invasion

- No poorly differentiated subtypes (e.g., papillary serous, clear cell, or other
FIGO grade 3 lesions)

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

- No other invasive malignancies within the past 5 years except for nonmelanoma skin
cancer

- No rheumatoid arthritis, severe uncontrolled osteoarthritis, hepatic fibrosis, or
other active chronic inflammatory condition

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

- See Disease Characteristics

- More than 3 years since prior adjuvant chemotherapy for localized breast cancer AND
no recurrent or metastatic disease

- No prior cancer treatment that contraindicates study therapy

- No prior chemotherapy for any abdominal or pelvic tumor

- No neoadjuvant chemotherapy prior to surgical staging