Combination Chemotherapy With or Without Peripheral Stem Cell Transplant in Treating Men With Previously Untreated Germ Cell Cancer

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop cancer cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Combining more than one drug may kill more cancer cells. Peripheral stem cell transplant may allow the doctor to give higher doses of chemotherapy and kill more cancer cells. It is not yet known whether chemotherapy and peripheral stem cell transplant is more effective than chemotherapy alone. PURPOSE: This randomized phase III trial is studying how well combination chemotherapy works when given with peripheral stem cell transplant and how it compares with combination chemotherapy alone in treating men with previously untreated germ cell cancer.