OBJECTIVES: I. Determine the overall, partial, and complete response rates in patients with stage IIIB-IV or recurrent non-small cell lung cancer treated with bryostatin 1 and paclitaxel. II. Determine the overall survival and time to tumor progression in patients treated with this regimen. III. Determine the T cell subset analysis and serum levels of interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor alpha in these patients after receiving bryostatin 1 and correlate with clinical endpoints.
OUTLINE: This is a multicenter study. Patients receive paclitaxel IV over 1 hour on days 1, 8, and 15 and bryostatin 1 IV over 1 hour on days 2, 9, and 16. Treatment repeats every 4 weeks for a minimum of 2 courses in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Patients are followed for at least 2 years for survival.
PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 15-40 patients will be accrued for this study within 1 year.