DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Histologically proven adenocarcinoma of the stomach

  • Stage IB, II, IIIA, IIIB, and IV (T2-3, any N, M0)

    • No lymph node metastases outside the field of resection (e.g., supraclavicular, mediastinal, or paraaortic nodes)
  • Potentially resectable
  • May involve the gastroesophageal junction, but bulk of tumor must be in the stomach
  • No distant metastases
  • No pleural or pericardial effusion
• No peritoneal disease diagnosed by laparoscopy

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Age:

• Not specified

Performance status:

• Zubrod 0-2

Life expectancy:

• At least 16 weeks

Hematopoietic:

• Absolute granulocyte count greater than 2,000/mm^3
• Platelet count greater than 100,000/mm^3

Hepatic:

• Bilirubin no greater than 1.5 mg/dL

Renal:

• Creatinine less than 1.5 mg/dL

Cardiovascular:

• No New York Heart Association class III or IV heart disease
• No hypertension

Neurologic:

• No cerebrovascular disease
• No diabetic neuropathy
• No mental status abnormalities

Other:

• No uncontrolled diabetes
• No infection
• No other malignancies within past 5 years except resected squamous cell or basal cell skin cancer
• Not pregnant or nursing
• Fertile patients must use effective contraception

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

Biologic therapy:

• No prior immunotherapy

Chemotherapy:

• No prior chemotherapy

Endocrine therapy:

• Not specified

Radiotherapy:

• No prior radiotherapy to stomach

Surgery:

• No prior surgery to stomach