Inclusion Criteria

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

- Histologically confirmed adenocarcinoma* of the prostate

- Biopsy of a metastatic site allowed provided the tissue stains positive for
prostate-specific antigen (PSA)

- Indicator lesions need not be biopsy proven if the clinical presentation is
characteristic

- Nodal and/or visceral disease allowed NOTE: *Variant histologies (e.g., ductal
carcinoma and small cell carcinoma) are allowed only for the phase I portion of
the study

- Progressive androgen-independent disease, as evidenced by the following:

- Testosterone ≤ 50 ng/dL OR prior bilateral orchiectomy

- Patients must continue luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone agonists to
maintain castrate levels

- Symptomatic progression OR rising PSA on two occasions, at least 1 week apart,
with a minimum pretreatment PSA of 5 ng/mL

- Progressive disease after at least 1, but no more than 2, prior chemotherapy regimens
for prostate cancer in the neoadjuvant or metastatic setting (phase II only)

- No CNS metastases

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Age

- 18 and over

Performance status

- Zubrod 0-2

Life expectancy

- At least 12 weeks

Hematopoietic

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

- Platelet count ≥ 100,000/mm^3

- Hemoglobin ≥ 9.0 g/dL

Hepatic

- SGOT and SGPT < 2 times upper limit of normal (ULN)

- Bilirubin < 2 times ULN

Renal

- Creatinine ≤ 2.0 mg/dL OR

- Creatinine clearance ≥ 35 mL/min

Cardiovascular

- No clinical history of heart disease

- ECG normal OR

- Ejection fraction ≥ 45% by echocardiogram, MUGA, or ventriculography

Other

- No active or uncontrolled infection

- No significant psychiatric disorder that would preclude giving informed consent

- No grade 2 or greater peripheral neuropathy

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

- No other serious medical illness

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

Biologic therapy

- More than 2 weeks since prior immunotherapy AND evidence of disease progression

- More than 2 weeks since prior antiangiogenesis therapy AND evidence of disease
progression

Chemotherapy

- See Disease Characteristics

- No more than 2 prior chemotherapy* regimens for prostate cancer

- More than 3 weeks since prior chemotherapy and recovered

- Prior taxanes allowed NOTE: *Ketoconazole is considered chemotherapy

Endocrine therapy

- See Disease Characteristics

- At least 4 weeks since prior flutamide or nilutamide (6 weeks for bicalutamide) AND
no evidence of response or disease progression since withdrawal

- No concurrent antiandrogens (e.g., flutamide, nilutamide or bicalutamide)

Radiotherapy

- More than 12 weeks since prior strontium chloride Sr 89

- No more than 1 prior dose of strontium chloride Sr 89

- More than 3 weeks since prior radiotherapy

- No prior radiotherapy to more than 15% of the bone marrow

Surgery

- See Disease Characteristics

- At least 2 weeks since prior surgery

Other

- More than 2 weeks since prior non-androgen mediated pathway therapy (e.g., epidermal
growth factor receptor antagonists or farnesyl transferase inhibitors) AND evidence
of disease progression

- More than 2 weeks since prior herbal or alternative medicines or PC-SPES AND evidence
of disease progression