Gemcitabine Hydrochloride and Tanespimycin in Treating Patients With Recurrent Advanced Ovarian Epithelial or Peritoneal Cavity Cancer

Inclusion Criteria:

* Diagnosis of ovarian epithelial or primary peritoneal cavity cancer

  * Relapsed disease
  * Persistent disease
* Platinum-resistant disease, defined as having evidence of disease that would be expected to be non-responsive to additional platinum-containing regimens or contraindication to platinum-based chemotherapy and 1 of the following:

  * Failure to obtain a complete response to initial platinum therapy
  * Recurrence \< 6 months after completing a platinum-containing regimen for initial or recurrent disease
  * Any of the above situations and following treatment with additional chemotherapy regimens (e.g., non-platinum containing regimens)
  * Relative or absolute contraindication to platinum-based chemotherapy regimens (e.g., platinum allergy) as determine by the investigator
* Measurable or evaluable disease

  * Patients with a rising CA 125 level, even in the absence of other indicators of disease, allowed provided CA 125 is ≥ 2 times upper limit of normal (ULN)
* Patients with accessible disease must be willing to undergo tumor biopsies
* No CNS metastases
* Performance status - ECOG 0-2
* WBC ≥ 3,000/mm\^3
* Platelet count ≥ 100,000/mm\^3
* Hemoglobin ≥ 9.0 g/dL
* Bilirubin normal
* Alkaline phosphatase ≤ 2.5 times ULN
* AST ≤ 2.5 times ULN
* Creatinine ≤ 1.5 times ULN
* Ejection fraction \> 40% by ECHO for patients with prior anthracycline therapy
* No significant cardiac disease including any of the following:

  * New York Heart Association class III or IV heart disease
  * History of myocardial infraction within the past year
  * Uncontrolled dysrhythmias or requirement for antiarrhythmic drugs
  * Poorly controlled angina
* No history of serious ventricular arrhythmia (i.e., ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation ≥ 3 beats in a row)
* No history of QTc ≥ 500 msec
* No active ischemic heart disease within the past 12 months
* No congenital long QT syndrome
* No left bundle branch block
* No cardiac symptoms ≥ grade 2
* No history of cardiac toxicity after receiving anthracyclines (e.g., doxorubicin hydrochloride, daunorubicin hydrochloride, mitoxantrone, bleomycin, or carmustine)
* Does not meet the medicare criteria for home oxygen
* No pulse oximetry at rest and exercise \< 88%
* No symptomatic pulmonary disease requiring medication including any of the following:

  * Dyspnea on or off exertion
  * Paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea
  * Oxygen requirement
  * Significant pulmonary disease (e.g., chronic obstructive/restrictive pulmonary disease)
* No pulmonary symptoms ≥ grade 2
* No history of pulmonary toxicity after receiving anthracyclines (e.g., doxorubicin hydrochloride, daunorubicin hydrochloride, mitoxantrone, bleomycin, or carmustine)
* K+, Mg ++, and Ca ++ normal
* No seizure disorder
* No uncontrolled infection
* No history of serious allergic reaction to eggs
* More than 4 weeks since prior immunotherapy
* More than 4 weeks since prior biologic therapy
* No concurrent immunotherapy
* No concurrent routine or prophylactic colony-stimulating factors (e.g., filgrastim \[G-CSF\] or sargramostim \[GM-CSF\])
* See Disease Characteristics
* More than 4 weeks since prior chemotherapy (6 weeks for mitomycin or nitrosoureas) and recovered
* Prior gemcitabine hydrochloride allowed provided 1 of the following criteria is met:

  * Patients have no prior exposure to gemcitabine hydrochloride
  * Patients who have prior exposure to gemcitabine hydrochloride as a single agent have experienced progressive disease while on treatment
* No other concurrent chemotherapy
* No prior radiotherapy to \> 25% of bone marrow
* No history of radiotherapy that potentially included the heart in the field (e.g., mantle)

  * Chest wall irradiation or other radiotherapy techniques that do not include the heart in the radiation field area allowed
* More than 4 weeks since prior radiotherapy
* More than 4 weeks since prior radiopharmaceuticals
* No concurrent radiotherapy
* No other concurrent investigational therapy
* No concurrent medications that may prolong QTc