Inclusion Criteria:

- Diagnosis of primary soft tissue sarcoma

- T2a or T2b disease

- Superficial or deep tumor

- Grade 1, 2, 3, or 4

- Tumor located on the upper extremity (including shoulder), lower extremity
(including hip), or trunk

- Meets 1 of the following criteria:

- Tumor ≥ 8 cm in maximal diameter and grade 3 or 4 (intermediate or high grade)
(cohort A)

- Tumor > 5 cm in maximal diameter and grade 1 or 2 (low grade) (cohort B)

- Locally recurrent disease allowed provided there has been no prior radiotherapy to
the primary tumor

- No histologically confirmed rhabdomyosarcoma, extraosseous Ewing's primitive
neuroectodermal tumors, osteosarcoma or chondrosarcoma, Kaposi's sarcoma,
angiosarcoma, desmoid tumors, or dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans

- No overt evidence of lung metastases (CT scan evidence of small incidental lesions
without histologic diagnosis allowed)

- No evidence of other metastases

- No sarcoma of the head, neck, intra-abdominal, or retroperitoneal region

- Performance status - Zubrod 0-1

- At least 2 years

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

- Platelet count ≥ 120,000/mm^3

- Hemoglobin ≥ 8.0 g/dL (cohort A)

- No known hypercoagulable disorders, such as the following:

- APC resistance (factor V Leiden)

- Protein S deficiency

- Protein C deficiency

- Antithrombin III deficiency

- Hyperhomocystinemia

- Dysplasminogenemia

- High plasminogen activator inhibitor

- Dysfibrinogenemia

- Antiphospholipid syndrome

- Thrombocythemia

- Dysproteinemia

- Fibrin split products < 2 times upper limit of normal (ULN)

- Fibrinogen > 200 mg/dL

- Bilirubin ≤ 1.5 mg/dL (1.0 mg/dL for patients with Gilbert's syndrome)

- AST and ALT ≤ 2.0 times ULN

- PT and PTT < 1.25 times ULN (except in patients treated with anticoagulants for
unrelated medical conditions [e.g., atrial fibrillation])

- No history of hepatic cirrhosis

- Creatinine ≤ 1.5 mg/dL

- Creatinine clearance > 60 mL/min

- No atherosclerotic coronary artery disease that required bypass surgery within the
past year

- No uncompensated coronary artery disease by ECG or physical examination

- No myocardial infarction within the past 6 months

- No severe or unstable angina within the past 6 months

- No uncompensated congestive heart failure

- No New York Heart Association class II-IV heart disease

- No symptomatic peripheral vascular disease

- No history of deep vein thrombosis

- Cohort A only:

- EF ≥ 50% within the past 6 months

- LVEF > 50%

- No pulmonary embolus except if caused directly by foreign body implants (e.g.,
central venous catheters or portacaths)

- No global neurocognitive symptomatology

- No fatigue ≥ grade 2

- No history of uncontrolled seizures or uncontrolled seizure disorder

- No sensory neuropathy ≥ grade 2 except for localized neuropathy due to mechanical
cause or trauma

- No other malignancies within the past 3 years except non-invasive malignancies
(e.g., carcinoma in situ of the cervix, breast, or oral cavity) or squamous or basal
cell skin cancer

- No history of uncontrolled myxedema

- No hypothyroidism ≥ grade 3

- No active uncontrolled bacterial, viral, or fungal infection

- No other significant illness that would preclude surgery

- No other major illness or psychiatric impairment that would preclude study therapy

- No known AIDS

- Not pregnant or nursing

- Negative pregnancy test

- Fertile patients must use 2 effective barrier methods of contraception for 4 weeks
before, during, and for at least 4 weeks after study treatment

- No prior thalidomide

- No prior biologic therapy for this tumor

- No prior chemotherapy for this tumor

- See Disease Characteristics

- No prior radiotherapy for this tumor

- See Cardiovascular

- No other concurrent investigational drugs

- No concurrent sedating drugs

- No concurrent illegal sedating "recreational" drugs

- No concurrent alcohol intake of more than 1 drink per day