RATIONALE: Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to damage tumor cells. Computer systems that allow doctors to create a 3-dimensional picture of the tumor in order to plan treatment may result in more effective radiation therapy.

PURPOSE: Phase I trial to study the effectiveness of high-dose radiation therapy planned using a 3-dimensional picture of the tumor in treating patients who have stage I, stage II, or stage III non-small cell lung cancer.

OBJECTIVES:

• Determine the maximum dose of external beam irradiation deliverable using conformal 3-dimensional treatment planning in patients with non-small cell lung cancer.
• Determine the feasibility and efficacy of 3-dimensional treatment planning in delivering high doses of external beam radiotherapy to these patients.
• Determine whether computer-generated dose-volume histograms and normal tissue complication probability models can predict the degree of pulmonary toxicity resulting from external beam radiotherapy.
• Determine the relationship between dose of external beam radiotherapy and the degree of pulmonary function change.

OUTLINE: This is a dose escalation study.

Patients undergo 3-dimensional conformal external beam radiotherapy 5 days a week for 8-10 weeks.

Cohorts of 10 patients receive escalating doses of radiotherapy until the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) is determined. The MTD is defined as the dose at which no more than 20% of patients experience dose-limiting toxicity.

Patients are followed at 1 month and then every 4 months thereafter.

PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 60-70 patients will be accrued for this study within 3 years.

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Histologically or cytologically confirmed non-small cell lung cancer

  • Clinical stage T1-4, N0-2, M0

    • Clinical stage T1-2, N0-1 must be medically inoperable

• No distant metastases on history and physical exam, CBC, screening profile, CT or MRI of brain, CT of chest and abdomen (including adrenals and liver), and bone scan

• No pleural effusions

• Atelectasis not clearly distinguishable from tumor mass allowed provided all tumor and atelectasis together represent a volume that can be safely treated to the total dose delivered to gross disease

• Diffuse pulmonary infiltrates thought to represent benign disease allowed only if representative lesion samples are proven by biopsy or cytology not to contain cancer

• No diffuse bronchoalveolar carcinoma

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Age:

• 18 and over

Performance status:

• Karnofsky 70-100%

Life expectancy:

• Not specified

Hematopoietic:

• Not specified

Hepatic:

• Not specified

Renal:

• Not specified

Other:

• No other malignancy within the past 5 years except nonmelanomatous skin cancer or noninvasive cervical carcinoma
• No other medical illness that cannot be adequately controlled with appropriate therapy or that is considered severe enough to preclude a radical treatment approach

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

Biologic therapy

• No prior biologic therapy for lung cancer

Chemotherapy

• No prior chemotherapy for lung cancer

Endocrine therapy

• No prior endocrine therapy for lung cancer

Radiotherapy

• No prior radiotherapy for lung cancer

Surgery

• No prior surgery for lung cancer