Radiation Therapy With or Without Vinorelbine and Cisplatin in Treating Patients With Stage I, Stage II, or Stage III Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

OBJECTIVES: Primary * Compare the overall survival of patients with stage I-III non-small cell lung cancer treated with vinorelbine, cisplatin, and continuous hyperfractionated accelerated radiotherapy (CHART) vs CHART alone. Secondary * Compare the response, progression-free survival, and quality of life of patients treated with these regimens. * Compare the toxic effect of these regimens in these patients. * Compare the cost effectiveness of these regimens in these patients. * Compare the local and distant control in patients treated with these regimens. OUTLINE: This is a randomized, multicenter study. Patients are randomized to 1 of 2 treatment arms. * Arm I: Patients undergo continuous hyperfractionated accelerated radiotherapy (CHART) 3 times a day for 12 consecutive days. * Arm II: Patients receive vinorelbine IV over 5-10 minutes on days 1 and 8 and cisplatin IV over 2 hours on day 1. Treatment repeats every 21 days for 3 courses in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Beginning 4-6 weeks later, patients undergo CHART as in arm I. Quality of life is assessed periodically. After completion of study treatment, patients are evaluated periodically for at least 5 years. Peer Reviewed and Funded or Endorsed by Cancer Research UK PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 500 patients will be accrued for this study.