Radiation Therapy With or Without Cisplatin in Treating Patients With Recurrent Endometrial Cancer

Inclusion Criteria:

* All patients must have undergone complete hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy at the time of original therapy for their uterine carcinoma
* Patients must have a biopsy with histologically confirmed diagnosis of recurrent endometrial cancer confined to the pelvis and/or vagina and no evidence of extrapelvic disease
* Patients must have endometrial carcinoma including endometrioid adenocarcinoma, adenocarcinoma with squamous differentiation, mucinous adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, mixed carcinoma, undifferentiated carcinoma, clear cell adenocarcinoma, and serous adenocarcinoma histologies
* Patients must have no evidence of extrapelvic disease; complete workup staging should be performed prior to initiation of therapy to rule-out presence of metastatic disease; this should include: computed tomography (CT) scan of the thorax with IV contrast, as well as a CT of the pelvis and abdomen with IV and oral (PO) contrast performed using multi-detector CT and equal or less than 5 mm slice thickness; if the patient is unable to tolerate contrast, then magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with IV gadolinium should be performed; a chest x-ray should be done first, and if abnormal, then a CT scan of the chest should be done
* Primary surgical debulking before protocol therapy is permissible; this would include removal of gross symptomatic disease in the pelvis and/or vagina

  * Exenterative surgery is not permissible; patients with complete resection of gross recurrent disease are eligible
* Patients may have received prior hormone therapy and/or systemic chemotherapy; such therapy must have been completed at least 6 months prior to study entry and the patient has clear evidence of disease subsequent to such therapy; patients must not have received neoadjuvant chemotherapy for the present recurrent disease
* Patients must have Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG) performance status 0, 1, or 2
* Patients must have an estimated survival greater or equal to 3 months
* Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) \>= 1,500/mm\^3 , equivalent to Common Toxicity Criteria (Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events \[CTCAE\] version \[v\] 3.0) grade 1
* Platelets \>= 100,000/mm\^3 (CTCAE v 3.0 grade 0-1)
* Creatinine =\< institutional upper limit normal (ULN), CTCAE v 3.0 grade 0; NOTE: if creatinine \> ULN, creatinine clearance must be \> 50 mL/min
* Bilirubin =\< 1.5 x ULN (CTCAE v 3.0 grade 1)
* Serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (SGOT) =\< 2.5 x ULN (CTCAE v 3.0 grade 0-1)
* Alkaline phosphatase =\< 2.5 x ULN (CTCAE v 3.0 grade 0-1)
* Neuropathy (sensory and motor) =\< CTCAE v 3.0 grade 1
* Patients with ureteral obstruction must undergo stent or nephrostomy tube placement prior to study entry
* Patients who have met the pre-entry requirements
* Patients must have signed an approved informed consent and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) authorization

Exclusion Criteria:

* Patients with evidence of disease outside of the pelvis, including presence of positive periaortic or inguino-femoral nodes
* Patients who have received previous vaginal, pelvic, or abdominal irradiation
* Patients who received chemotherapy directed at the present recurrence
* Patients with septicemia or severe infection
* Patients who have circumstances that will not permit completion of this study or the required follow-up
* Patients with renal abnormalities, such as pelvic kidney, horseshoe kidney, or renal transplantation, that would require modification of radiation fields
* Patients with a history of other invasive malignancies, with the exception of non-melanoma skin cancer, are excluded if there is any evidence of other malignancy being present within the last five years; patients are also excluded if their previous cancer treatment contraindicates this protocol therapy
* Patients who have undergone complete surgical resection of the recurrent tumor and have no evidence of residual disease evaluable clinically and by CT or MRI imaging, following resection
* Patients who have a significant history of cardiac disease, i.e., uncontrolled hypertension, unstable angina, congestive heart failure, or uncontrolled arrhythmias within 6 months of registration
* Patients with history of active collagen vascular disease
* Patients with GOG performance grade of 3 or 4