Docetaxel With or Without Infliximab in Treating Weight Loss, Loss of Appetite, and Fatigue in Patients With Unresectable Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (Infliximab Treatment Discontinued Effective 10/05/05)

OBJECTIVES: * Compare the improvement or stabilization of weight in elderly or poor performance status patients with unresectable non-small cell lung cancer treated with docetaxel with or without infliximab (infliximab treatment discontinued effective 10/05/05). * Compare appetite and functional status in patients treated with these regimens. * Compare the toxicity of these regimens in these patients. * Compare the augmentation or maintenance of lean tissue in patients treated with these regimens. * Compare the response rates and time to disease progression in patients treated with these regimens. * Compare the survival of patients treated with these regimens. * Determine whether the tumor necrosis factor-alpha polymorphisms in the -308 and -238 regions predict which cancer patients will experience loss of appetite and weight and which patients might potentially benefit from infliximab (infliximab treatment discontinued effective 10/05/05). OUTLINE: This is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter study. Patients are stratified according to weight loss within the past 6 months (0% vs more than 0% to less than 5% vs at least 5%), number of prior chemotherapy regimens (0 vs 1 vs more than 1), gender, and GBU prognostic index (good vs bad vs unsure). * Part A (non-randomized, single-center portion of study): Five patients receive infliximab IV (infliximab treatment discontinued effective 10/05/05) over 2 hours once weekly on weeks 1, 3, and 5 of the first course and once weekly on weeks 1 and 5 of all subsequent courses and docetaxel IV over 1 hour (immediately after completion of infliximab infusion \[infliximab treatment discontinued effective 10/05/05\]) once weekly on weeks 1-6 of each course. Treatment repeats every 8 weeks for 2-3 courses in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. If none of the 5 patients experiences any grade 4 or 5 toxicity directly attributable to infliximab (infliximab treatment discontinued effective 10/05/05), additional patients are accrued for part B of the study. * Part B (randomized, multicenter portion of study): Patients are randomized to 1 of 2 treatment arms. * Arm I (infliximab treatment discontinued effective 10/05/05): Patients receive infliximab and docetaxel as in part A. * Arm II: Patients receive docetaxel as in part A and placebo IV over 2 hours according to the infliximab schedule in part A (infliximab treatment discontinued effective 10/05/05). Treatment in both arms repeats as in part A. Quality of life, fatigue, appetite/anorexia, cachexia, and weight are assessed at baseline, weekly on weeks 1-8, and then monthly for the remainder of study treatment. Patients are followed every 6 months for 5 years.