RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Combining chemotherapy with peripheral stem cell transplantation may allow the doctor to give higher doses of chemotherapy drugs and kill more tumor cells.

PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of high-dose combination chemotherapy followed by peripheral stem cell transplantation in treating patients with lung cancer.

OBJECTIVES: I. Evaluate the response rate of high dose chemotherapy followed by autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation in the treatment of lung cancer.

OUTLINE: Patients undergo stem cell harvesting. Patients receive radiation therapy to primary site and metastatic sites, if necessary. Patients receive a high dose of paclitaxel by 24 hour continuous infusion, then stem cells are infused 72 hours later. After a 3-4 week recovery period, patients receive ifosfamide and carboplatin by daily continuous infusion on days -7, -6, -5, and -4. Etoposide is administered by continuous infusion twice daily on days -7, -6, -5, and -4. Stem cells are again infused on day 0. Filgrastim (granulocyte colony-stimulating factor; G-CSF) begins on day 0. Patients may receive radiotherapy following recovery from chemotherapy. Patients are followed weekly for the first 6 months, then periodically for at least 2 years.

PROJECTED ACCRUAL: This study will accrue 30 patients in 3 years.

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS: Histologically or cytologically diagnosed lung cancer including the following: Relapsed limited stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC) Limited stage SCLC responding to conventional radiotherapy Extensive stage SCLC Stage IIIB and IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) Stages II-IIIA NSCLC who are unable or unwilling to undergo surgery but are acceptable candidates for high dose chemotherapy Cryopreserved peripheral blood stem cells with CD34 count greater than 2000/mm3 No untreated or uncontrolled brain metastases

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS: Age: Any age Performance status: Karnofsky 60-100% Life expectancy: Not specified Hematopoietic: Not specified Hepatic: Bilirubin less than 1.5 times normal SGOT less than 1.5 times normal Renal: Creatinine clearance greater than 50 mL/min Pulmonary: Left ventricular ejection fraction greater than 45% DLCO greater than 40% Other: Not pregnant or lactating No medical or psychiatric illness preventing informed consent or intensive treatment

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY: Concurrent chemotherapy allowed if no evidence of disease progression