Paclitaxel Compared With Doxorubicin in Treating Patients With Advanced AIDS-Related Kaposi's Sarcoma

Inclusion Criteria:

* Serologic diagnosis of HIV infection as documented by a positive ELISA and confirmed with a western blot, other federally approved HIV diagnostic test, or HIV viral load measurement
* Biopsy-proven, measurable Kaposi's sarcoma with any of the following:

  * Progressive cutaneous disease
  * Symptomatic oropharyngeal or conjunctival lesions
  * Any visceral involvement
  * Tumor-related lymphedema
  * Tumor-related ulceration or pain
  * NOTE: All patients must have measurable disease; baseline measurements must be obtained \< 4 weeks prior to registration
* ECOG performance status 0-2
* ANC \>= 1000/mm³ (with or without the use of colony-stimulating factors)
* Platelet count \>= 50,000/mm³
* Hemoglobin \>= 8 gm/dL
* Bilirubin \< 1.5 x the upper limit of normal (unless elevation is due to Crixivan administration with isolated elevation in conjugated bilirubin)
* SGOT or SGPT =\< 5 x the upper limit of normal
* Creatinine =\< 2.1 mg/dl
* Women must not be pregnant or lactating due to potential toxicity of therapy
* Women of childbearing potential and sexually active men must be advised to use an accepted and effective method of contraception due to potential toxicity of therapy
* No prior systemic cytotoxic chemotherapy for Kaposi's sarcoma
* Prior radiation therapy must have been discontinued \>= 7 days prior to randomization and must NOT have been delivered to marker lesions; (NOTE: Radiation therapy will not be permitted during study treatment)
* No active, untreated infection (no new opportunistic infectious complications within the previous week requiring a change in antibiotics); maintenance therapy for opportunistic infections will be allowed
* No prior or concomitant malignancy other than curatively treated carcinoma in situ of the cervix or basal/squamous cell carcinoma of the skin
* No neuropsychiatric history or altered mental status that might prevent informed consent or affect the ability of the patient to comply with the study
* Institutions must ask patients to participate in the quality of life portion of the protocol; however, patients may decline participation in this component of the study and still be eligible; the reason for refusal or inability to complete the QOL assessments must be documented in the Assessment Compliance Form (#596)
* Must not be known to be sensitive to E. coli derived proteins
* No history of cardiac insufficiency (NY Heart Association status \>= 2)
* Patients must be on stable (no change in drugs or doses) antiretroviral therapy for greater than 14 days prior to study; a combination regimen is required; ideally this will be a protease inhibitor containing triple therapy regimen
* Patients must give signed, written informed consent