DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Histologically confirmed ovarian epithelial, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer

  • Recurrent disease

• Received no more than 4 prior chemotherapy regimens for this malignancy

  • Considered refractory or resistant to prior taxane (paclitaxel or docetaxel) and/or platinum (cisplatin or carboplatin) therapy based on 1 of the following criteria:

    • Treatment-free interval < 6 months after platinum or paclitaxel
    • Disease progression during platinum- or paclitaxel-based therapy

• Measurable or evaluable disease

  • Measurable disease is defined as at least 1 unidimensionally measurable lesion ≥ 20 mm by conventional techniques OR ≥ 10 mm by spiral CT scan
  • Evaluable disease is defined as doubling of CA 125 blood levels within the past 6 months AND CA 125 level ≥ 2 times upper limit of normal (ULN) within the past week

• No active CNS metastases

  • Patients with known CNS metastases must have received prior radiotherapy or CNS-directed chemotherapy AND have ≥ 4 weeks of stable disease

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Age

• Over 18

Performance status

• Karnofsky 60-100%

Life expectancy

• At least 3 months

Hematopoietic

• Neutrophil count > 1,500/mm^3
• Platelet count > 100,000/mm^3
• WBC > 3,000/mm^3
• Hematocrit ≥ 28% (transfusion or growth factors allowed)
• Hemoglobin > 8.0 g/dL (transfusion or growth factors allowed)

Hepatic

• Bilirubin ≤ 1.5 times ULN
• SGOT ≤ 2.5 times ULN
• Alkaline phosphatase ≤ 2.5 times ULN

Renal

• Creatinine ≤ 1.5 times ULN

Other

• Not pregnant or nursing
• Negative pregnancy test
• Fertile patients must use effective contraception
• No active infection requiring antibiotics
• No neuropathy (sensory or motor) > grade 1

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

Biologic therapy

• No concurrent immunotherapy

Chemotherapy

• See Disease Characteristics
• No other concurrent chemotherapy

Endocrine therapy

• No concurrent hormonal therapy for the malignancy

Radiotherapy

• See Disease Characteristics
• No prior whole abdominal radiotherapy
• Concurrent localized radiotherapy allowed for control of local complications not indicative of general disease progression

Surgery

• Not specified

Other

• Recovered from prior antineoplastic therapy
• More than 4 weeks since prior standard therapy for malignant tumor
• More than 6 months since prior investigational anticancer drugs
• No other concurrent investigational drugs
• No concurrent drugs significantly metabolized by the cytochrome P450 enzymes CYP2C8, CYP2C9, CYP2C19, and CYP3A4/B1C
• No concurrent amifostine or other protective agents
• No concurrent grapefruit juice