RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop cancer cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Combining more than one drug may kill more cancer cells.

PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of docetaxel plus carboplatin in treating patients who have advanced cancer of the esophagus.

OBJECTIVES: I. Evaluate the objective response rate in patients with advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus treated with carboplatin and docetaxel. II. Assess the toxicity of this regimen in these patients. III. Assess the time to progression and overall survival of this patient population.

OUTLINE: Patients receive docetaxel IV over 1 hour on day 1, followed by carboplatin IV over 15-30 minutes on day 1. Treatment is repeated every 3 weeks for 6 courses in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Patients are followed every 3 months until year 2, every 6 months during years 2-5, and then annually thereafter until death.

PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 18-35 patients will be accrued for this study at a rate of 30 patients per year.

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS: Histologically confirmed metastatic or incurable, locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus Measurable disease outside of a previously radiated field required

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS: Age: 18 and over Performance status: ECOG 0-2 Life expectancy: Not specified Hematopoietic: Absolute granulocyte count at least 1500/mm3 Platelet count at least 100,000/mm3 Hepatic: Bilirubin normal SGOT no greater than 2 times upper limit of normal Renal: Creatinine normal Cardiovascular: No congestive heart failure or angina pectoris, even if medically controlled No prior myocardial infarction within the past year No clinically significant conduction system abnormalities, such as 2nd or 3rd degree heart block or bundle branch block Pulmonary: Not specified Other: Not pregnant or nursing Fertile patients must use effective contraception No active infections or medical illnesses that are uncontrolled No second malignancy other than previously treated nonmelanoma skin cancer or carcinoma in situ of the cervix or a prior malignancy from which patient has been disease free for past 3 years Caloric intake greater than 1500 calories/day Fluid intake greater than 1500 mL/day

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY: Biologic therapy: Not specified Chemotherapy: No prior chemotherapy Endocrine therapy: Not specified Radiotherapy: At least 4 weeks since prior radiotherapy Surgery: Not specified