Radiation Therapy, Gemcitabine Hydrochloride, and Cisplatin in Treating Patients With Locally Advanced Squamous Cell Cancer of the Vulva

Inclusion Criteria:

* Patients with locally advanced, previously untreated squamous cell carcinoma of the vulva
* Patients with T2 or T3 primary tumors (N0-3, M0) not amenable to surgical resection by standard radical vulvectomy
* Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) \>= 1,500/mcl
* Platelets \>= 100,000/mcl
* Creatinine =\< 1.5 times institutional upper limit of normal (ULN) OR calculated creatinine clearance \>= 60 mL/min
* Bilirubin =\< 1.5 x ULN
* Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) =\< 3.0 x ULN
* Alkaline phosphatase =\< 3 x ULN
* Patients judged capable of tolerating a radical course of chemoradiation therapy
* Patients must not be eligible for a higher priority Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG) protocol, if one exists; in general, this would refer to any active GOG Phase III protocol or Rare Tumor protocol for the same patient population
* Patients must have signed an approved informed consent and authorization permitting release of personal health information
* Patients with a GOG performance status of 0, 1, or 2

Exclusion Criteria:

* Patients with recurrent carcinoma of the vulva regardless of previous treatment
* Patients who have received prior pelvic radiation or cytotoxic chemotherapy
* Patients with vulvar melanomas or sarcomas
* Patients with circumstances that will not permit completion of the study or the required follow-up
* Patients with evidence of active septicemia, severe infection, gastrointestinal bleeding or severe gastrointestinal symptoms requiring medical or surgical therapy
* 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