Cisplatin and Docetaxel With or Without Radiation Therapy in Treating Patients Who Are Undergoing Surgery for Newly Diagnosed Stage III Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

Histologically or cytologically confirmed primary non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)*, including any of the following cellular types:

Adenocarcinoma
Squamous cell carcinoma
Large cell carcinoma
Non-lobar and non-diffuse bronchoalveolar cell carcinoma
NSCLC not otherwise specified NOTE: *Diagnosed within the past 3 months; diagnosis by mediastinal nodal biopsy or needle aspiration allowed provided a distinct lung primary (separate from the nodes) is clearly evident on CT scan

Stage IIIA disease

T1-T3 disease

If pleural effusion is present, must meet ≥ 1 of the following criteria to exclude T4 disease:

Pleural effusion cytologically negative by thoracentesis
Documented absence of pleural metastases and pleural effusion cytologically negative by thoracoscopy (for patients with pleural effusion on CT scan [but not on chest x-ray] that is deemed too small to tap safely under either CT scan or ultrasound guidance)

Confirmed positive ipsilateral mediastinal lymph node(s) (N2 disease)**, with or without positive ipsilateral hilar nodes, by mediastinoscopy, mediastinotomy, endoscopic ultrasound-guided transesophageal biopsy, thoracotomy, video-assisted thoracoscopy, Wang needles, or fine needle aspiration under bronchoscopic or CT guidance

N2 nodes must be separate from primary tumor by CT scan or surgical exploration AND maximum diameter ≤ 3.0 cm
Mediastinoscopy OR other means of mediastinal lymph node biopsy required (regardless of the primary tumor site) for patients with subcarinal lymphadenopathy by size criteria or by positron emission tomography (PET) scan
If the lymph nodes in the contralateral mediastinum and neck are visible by contrast CT scan of the chest AND are ≥ 1.0 cm OR if contralateral involvement is suggested by PET scan, lymph nodes must be confirmed negative by one of the above diagnostic procedures AND N3 status must be confirmed negative by histology or cytology
No palpable lymph nodes in the supraclavicular areas or higher in the neck unless proven benign by excisional biopsy

A nodal biopsy or needle aspiration may be omitted provided all of the following criteria are true:

Paralyzed left true vocal cord by bronchoscopy or indirect laryngoscopy
Nodes visible in the aortopulmonary window (level 5) region on CT scan
Distinct primary tumor (separate from the nodes) is visible by CT scan
No evidence of subcarinal nodal involvement by CT scan NOTE: **PET scan positivity is not sufficient to establish N2 nodal status
Measurable disease by chest x-ray and/or contrast-enhanced CT scan

Candidate for surgery

Resectable disease
No distant metastases, including other ipsilateral or contralateral parenchymal lesions or liver or adrenal metastases, by history or physical examination, fludeoxyglucose F 18 PET scan, MRI or CT scan of the brain, chest x-ray and/or CT scan of the lungs and upper abdomen

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Age

18 and over

Performance status

Zubrod 0-1

Life expectancy

Not specified

Hematopoietic

Absolute neutrophil count ≥ 1,800/mm^3
Platelet count ≥ 100,000/mm^3
Hemoglobin ≥ 10.0 g/dL (transfusion or other intervention allowed)

Hepatic

ALT and AST ≤ 2.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN)
Alkaline phosphatase ≤ 2.5 times ULN
Bilirubin ≤ 1.5 times ULN
No hepatic insufficiency resulting in clinical jaundice or coagulation defects

Renal

Creatinine clearance ≥ 60 mL/min

Cardiovascular

No unstable angina or congestive heart failure requiring hospitalization within the past 6 months
No transmural myocardial infarction within the past 6 months

Pulmonary

FEV_1 ≥ 2.0 L OR
Predicted post-resection FEV_1 ≥ 0.8 L
DLCO ≥ 50% of predicted
No chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbation
No other respiratory illness requiring hospitalization or that would preclude study therapy

Immunologic

No AIDS
No prior allergic reaction to the study drugs
No history of severe hypersensitivity to other drugs formulated with polysorbate 80
No acute bacterial or fungal infection requiring IV antibiotics

Other

Not pregnant or nursing
Negative pregnancy test
Fertile patients must use effective contraception
No unintentional weight loss > 5% of body weight within the past 6 months
No pre-existing peripheral neuropathy ≥ grade 2
No other invasive malignancy within the past 3 years except nonmelanoma skin cancer or carcinoma in situ of the breast, oral cavity, or cervix
No other severe active comorbidity

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

Biologic therapy

No prior biological agent for this cancer
No concurrent filgrastim (G-CSF), sargramostim (GM-CSF), or pegfilgrastim during study induction therapy (for patients randomized to the chemoradiotherapy arm)

Chemotherapy

No prior systemic chemotherapy for this cancer

Prior chemotherapy for a different cancer allowed

Endocrine therapy

Not specified

Radiotherapy

No prior radiotherapy to the region of this cancer that would result in overlap of radiotherapy fields
No routine post-operative radiotherapy
No concurrent intensity modulated radiotherapy

Surgery

See Disease Characteristics

Other

No prior gefitinib for this cancer
No concurrent amifostine