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