Inclusion Criteria

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

- Pathologically proven non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)

- Stage IA-IIIB disease

- Underwent prior complete surgical resection (R0) no more than 2 months ago

- Eligible for cisplatin-based adjuvant chemotherapy

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

- Karnofsky performance status ≥ 70%

- Absolute neutrophil count ≥ 1,500/mm^3

- Hemoglobin ≥ 8.0 g/dL

- Platelet count ≥ 100,000/mm^3

- Creatinine clearance > 55 mL/min

- Total bilirubin normal

- Alkaline phosphatase, AST, and ALT must meet 1 of the following criteria:

- Alkaline phosphatase (AP) normal AND AST and ALT ≤ 5 times upper limit of normal
(ULN)

- AP ≤ 2.5 times ULN AND AST and ALT ≤ 1.5 times ULN

- AP ≤ 5 times ULN AND AST and ALT normal

- Not pregnant or nursing

- Negative pregnancy test

- Fertile patients must use effective contraception during and for 3 months after
completion of study treatment

- No history of severe hypersensitivity reaction to docetaxel or other drugs formulated
with polysorbate 80

- No peripheral neuropathy > grade 1

- No hearing deficit at baseline, even if it does not require a hearing aid or
intervention or interfere with activities of daily life (i.e., CTCAE grade 2 or
higher)

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

- See Disease Characteristics

- No prior postoperative radiation therapy

- No prior chemotherapy for NSCLC

- No prior docetaxel or cisplatin

- No concurrent prophylactic filgrastim (G-CSF) or pegfilgrastim