DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Cytologically or histologically confirmed non-small cell lung cancer meeting the following criteria:

  • No T2 lesions invading the visceral pleura, causing atelectasis, or proximal to an obstructing pneumonia
  • No T3 lesions invading the chest wall (including the parietal pleura, musculature, and/or rib), mediastinal pleura, diaphragm, or pericardium
  • No T4 lesions invading the heart, great vessels, carina, or esophagus
• Must have disease that is incurable by standard treatment, defined as a minimum of first-line therapy with a platinum-containing regimen and second-line therapy with docetaxel, pemetrexed disodium, or erlotinib hydrochloride
• Measurable or nonmeasurable disease as defined by RECIST criteria
• No superior vena cava syndrome or superior sulcus tumors
• Patients with airway obstructing lesions, or patients experiencing hemoptysis, dyspnea, chest pain, and/or copious sputum production may be eligible after careful consideration by the study physicians

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

• ECOG performance status 0-1
• Life expectancy ≥ 12 weeks
• Hemoglobin ≥ 9.0 g/dL
• ANC ≥ 1,500/mm³
• Platelet count ≥ 100,000/mm³
• Serum creatinine ≤ 3.0 mg/dL
• Total bilirubin < 1.5 times upper limit of normal
• INR ≤ 1.3
• Not pregnant or nursing
• Negative pregnancy test
• Fertile patients must use effective non-hormonal contraception
• No prior or concurrent malignancy except inactive nonmelanoma skin cancer, carcinoma in situ of the cervix, stage I carcinoma of the prostate with normal PSA, or other cancer from which the patient has been disease free for 3 years

• No medical conditions that would make this protocol unreasonably hazardous, in the opinion of the treating physician, including any of the following:

  • Uncontrolled infection (including HIV)
  • Poorly controlled diabetes mellitus
  • Active cardiac disease (i.e., unstable angina, myocardial infarction within the past 6 months, or congestive heart failure)
• No other serious medical illness that would limit survival to < 3 months, or psychiatric condition that would prevent informed consent, unless a legal guardian is available
• Must consent to participate in the laboratory study, "Population Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacogenetics of Gemcitabine in Adult Patients with Solid Tumors" during course 1

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

• More than 6 months since prior gemcitabine hydrochloride

  • More than 2 weeks since other prior chemotherapy
• More than 4 weeks since prior radiotherapy