Inclusion Criteria

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

- Patients must have histologically or cytologically confirmed diagnosed non-small cell
lung cancer (NSCLC) and be scheduled to receive four courses of carboplatin and
docetaxel chemotherapy

- Scheduled to begin carboplatin and docetaxel chemotherapy in the next 30 days

- Newly diagnosed or previously treated patient with NSCLC; previously treated patients
are allowed to have any previous chemotherapy for the treatment of NSCLC

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

- Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status ≤ 2 (Karnofsky ≥ 60%)

- Life expectancy of greater than 6 months

- Leukocytes ≥ 3,000/mcL

- Absolute neutrophil count ≥ 1,500/mcL

- Platelets ≥ 100,000/mcL

- Total bilirubin within normal institutional limits

- Aspartate aminotransferase (AST)(serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase
[SGOT])/alanine aminotransferase (ALT)(serum glutamic pyruvate transaminase [SGPT]) ≤
2.5 times institutional upper limit of normal

- Creatinine within normal institutional limits OR creatinine clearance ≥ 60 mL/min

- Negative serum or urine pregnancy test in women of child-bearing potential

- Women of child-bearing potential and men must agree to use adequate contraception
(hormonal or barrier method of birth control; abstinence) prior to study entry and
for the duration of study participation

- Ability to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent document

- No history of allergic reactions attributed to compounds of similar chemical or
biologic composition to cardiac glycosides

- No uncontrolled intercurrent illness including, but not limited to, ongoing or active
infection, symptomatic congestive heart failure, unstable angina pectoris, cardiac
arrhythmia, or psychiatric illness/social situations that would limit compliance with
study requirements

- Not pregnant or breastfeeding

- HIV-positive patients on combination antiretroviral therapy are ineligible

- No uncontrolled or significant cardiovascular disease, including:

- A myocardial infarction within 6 months

- Uncontrolled angina within 6 months

- Congestive heart failure within 6 months, defined as New York Heart
Classification II (NYHC-II)

- Diagnosed or suspected congenital long QT syndrome

- Any history of clinically significant ventricular arrhythmias (such as
ventricular tachycardia, ventricular fibrillation, Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW)
syndrome, or torsade de pointes); prolonged corrected QT interval (QTc) interval
on pre-entry electrocardiogram (EKG) (> 450 msec); if the automated reading is
prolonged (i.e., > 450 msec), the EKG should be manually over-read

- Any history of second or third degree heart block (may be eligible if currently
have a pacemaker)

- Heart rate < 50 beats/minute OR sustained heart rate > 110 beats/minute on
pre-entry electrocardiogram (EKG or ECG)

- Uncontrolled hypertension

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

- See Disease Characteristics

- No patients receiving any other investigational agents

- Patients receiving any medications or substances that are inhibitors or inducers of
CYP 3A4 are ineligible

- No patients using or scheduled to use bevacizumab during study period

- No current use of cardiac glycoside