Inclusion Criteria

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

- Histologically confirmed diagnosis of endometrial cancer, including the following
histological subtypes:

- Adenocarcinoma

- Adenocarcinoma with squamous differentiation

- Mucinous adenocarcinoma

- Squamous cell carcinoma

- Mixed carcinoma

- Undifferentiated carcinoma

- Clear cell adenocarcinoma

- Serous adenocarcinoma

- Must have undergone prior complete hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy
at the time of original therapy

- Recurrent disease confined to the pelvis and/or vagina

- No evidence of extrapelvic disease, including positive periaortic or
inguino-femoral nodes by chest x-ray or CT scan

- Prior primary surgical debulking (including removal of gross symptomatic disease in
the pelvis and/or vagina) allowed provided there is residual disease that is
evaluable clinically and/or by CT scan or MRI

- Exenterative surgery is not permissible

- Patients who have undergone prior complete surgical resection of the recurrent
tumor and have no evidence of residual disease evaluable clinically and by CT
scan or MRI after resection are not eligible

- Patients enrolled subsequent to revision 11 with complete resection of
gross recurrent disease are eligible

- Patients with ureteral obstruction must undergo stent or nephrostomy tube placement
prior to study entry

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

- GOG performance status 0-2

- Life expectancy ≥ 3 months

- Absolute neutrophil count ≥ 1,500/mm³

- Platelet count ≥ 100,000/mm³

- Creatinine normal OR creatinine clearance > 50 mL/min

- Bilirubin ≤ 1.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN)

- SGOT ≤ 2.5 times ULN

- Alkaline phosphatase ≤ 2.5 times ULN

- No sensory or motor neuropathy > grade 1

- No septicemia or severe infection

- No circumstances that would preclude study participation

- No renal abnormalities (i.e., pelvic kidney, horseshoe kidney, or prior renal
transplantation) that would require modification of radiation fields

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

- No significant history of cardiac disease, including uncontrolled hypertension,
unstable angina, congestive heart failure, or uncontrolled arrhythmias within the
past 6 months

- No history of active collagen vascular disease

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

- At least 6 months since prior hormone therapy and/or systemic chemotherapy

- No prior neoadjuvant chemotherapy for recurrent disease

- No prior exenterative surgery

- No prior vaginal, pelvic, or abdominal irradiation

- No prior chemotherapy directed at the present recurrent disease

- No prior cancer treatment that would preclude study treatment