RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy such as cisplatin and paclitaxel use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die.

Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to damage tumor cells. Cisplatin and paclitaxel may make the tumor cells more sensitive to radiation therapy and may kill any tumor cells remaining after surgery.

PURPOSE: Randomized phase II trial to study the effectiveness of cisplatin, paclitaxel, and radiation therapy with or without fluorouracil in treating patients who have stage IB, stage IIB, or stage IIIB stomach cancer that has been removed during surgery.

OBJECTIVES:

• Compare the 2-year disease-free survival in patients with resected stage IB-IIIB gastric cancer treated with cisplatin, paclitaxel, and radiotherapy with or without fluorouracil vs therapy in the adjuvant arm of the intergroup adjuvant protocol 0116 (RTOG 90-18). (Arm I closed to accrual as of 6/18/03.)
• Compare the safety and success of these regimens vs therapy in the intergroup adjuvant study.
• Compare the toxic effects of these regimens vs therapy in the adjuvant arm of the intergroup study.

OUTLINE: This is a randomized, multicenter study. Patients are stratified according to tumor stage (T1-2 vs T3 vs T4) and by number of involved lymph nodes (none vs 1-3 vs 4 or more). Patients are randomized to one of two treatment arms. (Arm I closed to accrual as of 6/18/03.)

• Arm I (closed to accrual as of 6/18/03): Patients receive fluorouracil IV continuously and cisplatin IV over 1 hour on days 1-5 and 29-33 and paclitaxel IV continuously on days 1 and 29. At 3-4 weeks after completion of chemotherapy, patients receive radiotherapy once daily and fluorouracil IV continuously on days 1-5, 8-12, 15-19, 22-26, and 29-33. Patients also receive paclitaxel IV over 3 hours on days 1, 8, 15, 22, and 29.
• Arm II: Patients receive paclitaxel IV over 3 hours and cisplatin IV over 1 hour on days 1 and 29.

At 3-4 weeks after completion of chemotherapy, patients receive radiotherapy once daily and paclitaxel IV continuously on days 1-5, 8-12, 15-19, 22-26, and 29-33. Patients also receive cisplatin IV over 1 hour on days 1, 8, 15, 22, and 29.

Patients are followed every 3 months for 2 years, every 6 months for 2 years, and then annually thereafter.

PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 94 patients will be accrued for this study within 3 years.

• Esophageal Cancer
• Gastric Cancer

• Drug: cisplatin
• Drug: paclitaxel
• Procedure: adjuvant therapy
• Radiation: radiation therapy

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Histologically confirmed stage IB-IIIB adenocarcinoma of the stomach or gastroesophageal junction having undergone potentially curative resection of primary tumor

  • No more than 8 weeks since primary tumor resection
• No metastatic disease

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Age:

• Not specified

Performance status:

• Zubrod 0-1

Life expectancy:

• Not specified

Hematopoietic:

• WBC at least 4,000/mm^3
• Platelet count at least 150,000/mm^3

Hepatic:

• Bilirubin no greater than 1.5 mg/dL
• AST and ALT no greater than 2.5 times upper limit of normal

Renal:

• BUN less than 30 mg/dL
• Creatinine no greater than 1.4 mg/dL
• Creatinine clearance greater than 50 mL/min

Cardiovascular:

• No New York Heart Association class III or IV heart disease
• No active angina or myocardial infarction within the past 6 months
• No history of significant ventricular arrhythmia requiring medication with antiarrhythmics
• No history of clinically significant conduction system abnormality

Other:

• No concurrent serious infection that is uncontrolled or would preclude study participation
• No nonmalignant medical illness that is uncontrolled or would preclude study participation
• No psychiatric disorders that would preclude study participation
• No other active malignancy within the past 3 years except nonmelanoma skin cancer or carcinoma in situ of the cervix
• No clinically significant hearing loss
• Not pregnant or nursing
• Negative pregnancy test
• Fertile patients must use effective contraception

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

Biologic therapy:

• Not specified

Chemotherapy:

• No prior chemotherapy
• No other concurrent chemotherapy

Endocrine therapy:

• Not specified

Radiotherapy:

• No prior radiotherapy to the treatment field

Surgery:

• See Disease Characteristics

Other:

• No other concurrent anticancer therapy