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

PURPOSE: Phase I trial to study the effectiveness of taurolidine in treating patients who have recurrent ovarian epithelial cancer, fallopian tube cancer, or primary peritoneal cancer.

OBJECTIVES: I. Determine the maximum tolerated dose and recommended phase II dose of taurolidine after positive second-look surgery in patients with recurrent ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer. II. Determine the dose-limiting toxicity and safety of this drug in these patients.

OUTLINE: This is a dose-escalation study. Patients receive taurolidine intraperitoneally weekly on weeks 1-3 and 7-9 in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Cohorts of 1-6 patients receive escalating doses of taurolidine until the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) is determined. The MTD is defined as the dose preceding that at which at least 2 of 6 patients experience dose-limiting toxicity. Patients are followed every 3 weeks for 9 weeks.

PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A maximum of 15 patients will be accrued for this study within 12-18 months.

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS: Histologically confirmed ovarian epithelial, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal adenocarcinoma Stage IIC or higher at diagnosis Successfully received prior chemotherapy Undergone initial cytoreductive surgery Evidence of gross disease at second-look surgery

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS: Age: 18 and over Performance status: Karnofsky 70-100% Life expectancy: Not specified Hematopoietic: Platelet count at least 100,000/mm3 Hepatic: Bilirubin less than 1.5 mg/dL AST and/or ALT less than 3 times upper limit of normal No clinically significant PT/PTT abnormality Renal: Creatinine less than 1.7 mg/dL Other: No known hypersensitivity to taurolidine or its excipients No other clinically significant disease that would preclude study

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY: Biologic therapy: Not specified Chemotherapy: See Disease Characteristics Endocrine therapy: Not specified Radiotherapy: Not specified Surgery: See Disease Characteristics Other: At least 30 days since prior investigational drugs