Inclusion Criteria

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

- Histologically or cytologically confirmed non-small cell lung cancer

- Chemotherapy-naive

- Stage IIIB disease not amenable to surgery with pleural effusion, pericardial
effusion, or not a candidate for chemoradiotherapy

- Stage IV disease

- Must have pathology block or unstained slides from initial or subsequent diagnosis

- Diagnosis made via a core biopsy (not a fine-needle aspirate) required

- Measurable disease as defined by RECIST guidelines

- For patient who received prior radiotherapy, evaluable disease must be outside
of the radiation field, or have new lesions that developed within the radiation
field

- Brain metastasis allowed provided it has been treated and determined to be controlled
by the treating physician

- No IgE cetuximab antibody

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

- ECOG performance status 0-1

- ANC ≥ 1,500/mm^3

- Platelet count ≥ 100,000/mm^3

- Hemoglobin ≥ 8.0 g/dL

- Creatinine < 2.0 times upper limit of normal (ULN)

- AST and ALT ≤ 2.5 times ULN (≤ 5 times ULN in the presence of hepatic metastasis)

- Bilirubin ≤ 1.5 times ULN

- Prior malignancy allowed provided the treating physician determines that the
patient's life expectancy is best defined by diagnosis of non-small cell lung cancer
(NSCLC)

- Not pregnant or nursing

- Negative pregnancy test

- Fertile patients must use effective contraception

- No peripheral neuropathy ≥ grade 2 by NCI CTCAE v. 3.0

- No prior severe allergic reaction to any of the following:

- Carboplatin

- Taxane therapy

- Monoclonal antibody

- Hypersensitivity (NCI CTCAE grade3-4) to a drug formulated in Cremophor® EL
(polyoxyethylated castor oil)

- No active or uncontrolled infection

- No significant history of uncontrolled cardiac disease including, but not limited to,
any of the following:

- Uncontrolled hypertension

- Unstable angina

- Myocardial infarction within the past 6 months

- Uncontrolled congestive heart failure

- Cardiomyopathy with decreased ejection fraction

- No underlying interstitial lung disease

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

- See Disease Characteristics

- At least 1 week since prior and no concurrent therapeutic radiotherapy

- Palliative radiotherapy for painful bone lesions allowed

- At least 6 months since prior adjuvant chemotherapy

- No investigational agent(s) within the past 30 days

- Not requiring concurrent treatment with any of the following:

- Ketoconazole

- Itraconazole

- Ritonavir

- Amprenavir

- Indinavir

- Nelfinavir

- Delavirdine

- Voriconazole

- No other concurrent chemotherapy or cetuximab