RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. It is not yet known if combination chemotherapy given after surgery is more effective than surgery alone for non-small cell lung cancer.

PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to compare the effectiveness of combination chemotherapy following surgery with that of surgery alone in treating patients who have stage I, stage II, or stage IIIA non-small cell lung cancer.

OBJECTIVES: I. Compare the impact on overall survival of adjuvant cisplatin and either a vinca alkaloid or etoposide (with or without radiotherapy) vs. no adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with completely resected stage I/II/III non-small cell lung cancer. II. Assess the frequency of treatment-related deaths and severe toxic effects. III. Describe the patterns of failure, second malignancies, and toxic effects associated with each treatment regimen.

OUTLINE: This is a randomized, multicenter study. Patients are stratified by participating institution, type of prior surgery, and pathologic stage. Each participating center will determine which combination chemotherapy regimen and which of three cisplatin doses will be given to all patients treated at that center. The treatment group receives cisplatin combined with either vindesine, vinblastine, vinorelbine, or etoposide every 3-4 weeks for 3-4 courses, depending on the dose of cisplatin. The second group receives no adjuvant chemotherapy. Treating institutions determine prior to entering the trial which patients receive adjuvant radiotherapy: none; those with node-positive disease; those with N1 disease only; those with N2 disease only; or those eligible for a randomized radiotherapy trial. For patients in the treatment group, radiotherapy begins 3-4 weeks after the last course. Patients are followed at 6 months, then annually.

PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A maximum of 3,300 patients will be accrued for this study.

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS: Histologically documented non-small cell lung cancer Any non-small cell histology eligible Pathologic stage I/II/III disease that is completely resected with microscopically clear margins within 60 days of entry (30 days preferred)

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS: Age: 18 to 75 Performance status: Not specified Hematopoietic: Not specified Hepatic: Not specified Renal: Not specified Other: No clear contraindication to chemotherapy No second malignancy except: Nonmelanomatous skin cancer Carcinoma in situ of the cervix

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY: Biologic therapy: No prior immunotherapy Chemotherapy: No prior chemotherapy Endocrine therapy: Not specified Radiotherapy: No prior thoracic radiotherapy Surgery: Complete resection required prior to entry