Combination Chemotherapy in Treating Patients With Stage III or Stage IV Ovarian Epithelial or Primary Peritoneal Cancer

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Combining more than one drug may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: Phase I trial to study the effectiveness of combination chemotherapy in treating patients who have stage III or stage IV ovarian epithelial or primary peritoneal cancer.

OBJECTIVES: I. Determine the feasibility of administering multiple courses of carboplatin and topotecan without excessive dose modification or course delay in patients with previously untreated ovarian epithelial or primary peritoneal carcinoma. II. Describe the response rate and progression-free interval in these patients with this treatment regimen. III. Determine pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic parameters related to the sequence of carboplatin and topotecan administration in these patients. OUTLINE: Patients are assigned to one of three treatment regimens. Regimen I: Patients receive carboplatin IV over 30 minutes on day 1 followed by topotecan IV over 30 minutes on days 1-3. Treatment continues every 21 days for 4 courses in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Patients then receive paclitaxel IV over 3 hours followed by carboplatin IV over 30 minutes on day 1. Treatment continues every 21 days for 4 courses in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Regimen II: Patients receive topotecan IV over 30 minutes on days 1-3 followed by carboplatin IV over 30 minutes on day 3. Treatment continues every 21 days for 4 courses in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Patients then receive paclitaxel IV over 3 hours followed by carboplatin IV over 30 minutes on day 1. Treatment continues every 21 days for 4 courses in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Regimen III: Patients receive topotecan IV over 30 minutes on days 1-5 followed by carboplatin IV over 30 minutes on day 5. Treatment continues every 21 days for 4 courses in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Patients then receive paclitaxel IV over 3 hours followed by carboplatin IV over 30 minutes on day 1. Treatment continues every 21 days for 4 courses in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Patients are followed at 1 month and then every 3 months for 1 year. PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 15-80 patients will be accrued for this study within 2 years.