Radiation Therapy and Ammonium Tetrathiomolybdate in Treating Patients With Stage I, Stage II, or Stage III Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

RATIONALE: Ammonium tetrathiomolybdate may stop the growth of non-small cell lung cancer by blocking blood flow to the tumor. Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to kill tumor cells. Giving ammonium tetrathiomolybdate together with radiation therapy may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: This phase I trial is studying the side effects of giving radiation therapy together with ammonium tetrathiomolybdate in treating patients with stage I, stage II, or stage III non-small cell lung cancer.

OBJECTIVES: Primary * To assess the acute toxicity of combining antiangiogenic copper reduction with ammonium tetrathiomolybdate (TM) and standard external-beam radiotherapy in patients with stage I-IIIB non-small cell lung cancer. Secondary * To measure changes in biological markers of angiogenesis (i.e., ELISA analysis of serum bFGF, VEGF, TGF-beta, IL-6, and IL-8) affected by TM or radiotherapy and an imaging technique (technetium 99m sestamibi) known to correlate with intratumoral angiogenesis. * To follow the late toxicity that exists when angiogenic inhibition with the copper reduction agent TM is combined with standard external-beam radiotherapy in these patients. * To collect tumor response, recurrence rate, and survival data on these patients. OUTLINE: * Induction phase: Patients receive oral ammonium tetrathiomolybdate (TM) 4 times daily for up to 3 weeks. * Radiotherapy: Patients undergo radiotherapy once daily, 5 days a week, for 6-7 weeks along with concurrent TM. * Maintenance phase: Patients continue to receive TM for a total of 1 year . Blood is collected periodically for analysis of laboratory outcomes by ELISA and technetium 99m sestamibi scans. Biomarkers may include VEGF, bFGF, TGF-beta, interleukin (IL)-6, and IL-8. After completion of study therapy, patients are followed every 3 months for up to 2 years.