OBJECTIVES: I. Determine if patients with ovarian epithelial cancer receiving chemotherapy have significantly fewer neurologic events when treated with amifostine. II. Compare amifostine vs no chemoprotection in terms of overall incidence of neuropathy, incidence of neutropenia, infection, and other myelosuppressive events (e.g., leukopenia, anemia, and thrombocytopenia), length of hospital stay due to infections, and quality of life in this patient population.