Inclusion Criteria:

- All patients must have histologically or cytologically documented small cell
carcinoma of the bronchus; those who are being considered for combined modality
therapy with chemotherapy and radiation are NOT eligible for this study

- The extensive disease classification for this protocol includes all patients with
disease sites not defined as limited stage; limited stage disease category includes
patients with disease restricted to one hemithorax with regional lymph node
metastases, including hilar, ipsilateral and contralateral mediastinal, and/or
ipsilateral supraclavicular nodes; extensive disease patients are defined as those
patients with extrathoracic metastatic disease, malignant pleural effusion, bilateral
or contralateral supraclavicular adenopathy or contralateral hilar adenopathy

- No prior chemotherapy for small cell lung cancer (SCLC)

- Radiation therapy must have been completed at least 1 week before initiation of
protocol therapy

- Measurable disease is defined as having at least one lesion that can be accurately
measured in at least one dimension; the longest diameter of the lesion must be >= 20
mm with conventional techniques or >= 10 mm with spiral computed tomography (CT)
scan; lesions that are not considered measurable include the following:

- Bone lesions

- Leptomeningeal disease

- Ascites

- Pleural/pericardial effusion

- Abdominal masses that are not confirmed and followed by imaging techniques

- Cystic lesions

- Tumor lesions situated in a previously irradiated area

- Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status 0-2

- Non-pregnant and non-nursing

- No active central nervous system (CNS) metastases; patients with CNS metastases will
be eligible if they have completed a course of CNS radiotherapy if clinically
indicated and recover from the toxicity of radiotherapy prior to enrollment, with a
minimum of one week after completion of radiation

- No medical conditions such as uncontrolled infection (including human
immunodeficiency virus [HIV]), psychiatric illness which would prevent the patient
from giving informed consent, uncontrolled diabetes mellitus or cardiac disease
which, in the opinion of the treating physician, would make this protocol
unreasonably hazardous for the patient

- No patients with a "currently active" second malignancy other than nonmelanoma skin
cancers; patients are not considered to have a "currently active" malignancy if they
have completed therapy and considered by their physician to be at less than 30% risk
of relapse

- Granulocytes >= 1,500/ul

- Platelet count >= 100,000/ul

- Bilirubin within normal limits

- Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase [SGOT]) =<
2.5 x upper limits of normal

- Prothrombin time (PT) =< 1.5 x upper limits of normal

- Partial thromboplastin time (PTT) =< 1.5 x upper limits of normal

- Creatinine =< 2 mg/dl or creatinine clearance >= 60 ml/min