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 consisting of liposomal doxorubicin and etoposide in treating patients who have recurrent or persistent ovarian, fallopian tube, or peritoneal cancer.

OBJECTIVES: I. Determine the optimal dose of doxorubicin HCl liposomal and prolonged oral etoposide in patients with recurrent or persistent ovarian, tubal, and peritoneal carcinoma. II. Determine the nature and degree of toxicity of this therapy in these patients. III. Evaluate the response rate of patients with measurable disease.

OUTLINE: This is a dose escalation, multicenter study of etoposide and doxorubicin HCl liposome. Patients receive doxorubicin HCl liposome IV over 1 hour on day 1, followed by oral etoposide for 8-14 days beginning on day 2. For patients who achieve partial or complete response, treatment repeats every 4 weeks for 1 year in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. For patients with stable disease, treatment repeats every 4 weeks for 6 months. In the absence of dose limiting toxicity (DLT) in the first 3 patients treated, subsequent cohorts of 3-6 patients each receive doses of etoposide for more prolonged periods. After 14 days of oral etoposide, the dose of doxorubicin HCl liposome is escalated. The maximum tolerated dose is defined as the dose preceding that at which 2 of 6 patients experience DLT. Patients are followed every 3 months for 1 year, then until death.

PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 24 patients will be accrued for this study within 1 year.

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS: Histologically proven recurrent or persistent ovarian, tubal, or peritoneal carcinoma of the following cell types: Serous adenocarcinoma Mucinous adenocarcinoma Clear cell adenocarcinoma Transitional cell Endometrioid adenocarcinoma Undifferentiated carcinoma Mixed epithelial carcinoma Malignant Brenner tumor Adenocarcinoma not otherwise specified Must not be eligible for any other higher priority phase II or phase III GOG protocol

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS: Age: Not specified Performance status: GOG 0-2 Life expectancy: Not specified Hematopoietic: WBC at least 3,000/mm3 Platelet count at least 100,000/mm3 Granulocyte count at least 1,500/mm3 Hepatic: Bilirubin no greater than 1.5 times normal SGOT/SGPT/GGT no greater than 2.5 times normal Alkaline phosphatase no greater than 2.5 times normal No acute hepatitis Renal: Creatinine no greater than 2.0 mg/dL Creatinine clearance greater than 50 mL/min Cardiovascular: LVEF within normal range as determined by MUGA No congestive heart failure or unstable angina No myocardial infarction within the past 6 months Prior abnormal cardiac conduction (e.g., bundle branch block, heart block) allowed if stable for at least 6 months Other: No significant infection No septicemia Body surface area at least 1 m2 Adequate intestinal function (i.e., does not require IV hydration or nutritional support) No severe gastrointestinal bleeding No other invasive malignancies within the past 5 years except nonmelanomatous skin cancer

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY: Biologic therapy: At least 3 weeks since prior biologic therapy and recovered Chemotherapy: Must have received at least 1 prior cisplatin-paclitaxel based regimen At least 3 weeks since prior chemotherapy and recovered No prior anthracycline therapy Endocrine therapy: At least 3 weeks since prior endocrine therapy and recovered Radiotherapy: No prior radiotherapy to more than 10% of bone marrow Surgery: At least 3 weeks since prior surgery and recovered