Vaccine Therapy, Chemotherapy, and Radiation Therapy in Treating Patients With Stage III Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer That Cannot Be Removed With Surgery

Inclusion Criteria

• •DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:
• •Histologically confirmed non-small cell lung cancer
• •* Stage III (locally advanced) disease
• •Unresectable disease
• •Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA)-positive (staining ≥ 20% of cells) tumor by immunohistochemistry
• •HLA-A2-positive
• •No distant metastases
• •PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:
• •Age
• •18 and over
• •Performance status
• •ECOG 0-1
• •Life expectancy
• •At least 6 months
• •Hematopoietic
• •Granulocyte count ≥ 1,500/mm\^3
• •Platelet count ≥ 100,000/mm\^3
• •Absolute lymphocyte count ≥ 600/mm\^3
• •Hemoglobin ≥ 10 g/dL
• •Hepatic
• •Bilirubin \< 1.5 mg/dL
• •AST ≤ 2 times upper limit of normal
• •Hepatitis B and C negative
• •Renal
• •Creatinine normal OR
• •Creatinine clearance \> 60 mL/min
• •Cardiovascular
• •No unstable or newly diagnosed angina pectoris
• •No myocardial infarction within the past 6 months
• •No New York Heart Association class II-IV congestive heart failure
• •Immunologic
• •HIV negative
• •No altered immune function
• •No active or history of eczema
• •No atopic dermatitis
• •No autoimmune disease, including any of the following:
• •* Autoimmune neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, or hemolytic anemia
• •* Systemic lupus erythematosus
• •* Sjögren's syndrome
• •* Scleroderma
• •* Myasthenia gravis
• •* Goodpasture's syndrome
• •* Addison's disease
• •* Hashimoto's thyroiditis
• •* Active Graves' disease
• •* Multiple sclerosis
• •No known history of allergy or serious reaction to prior vaccination with vaccina
• •No known allergy to eggs
• •No active or history of extensive psoriasis, severe acneiform rash, impetigo, varicella zoster, burns, or other traumatic or pruritic skin condition
• •Other
• •Not pregnant or nursing
• •Negative pregnancy test
• •Fertile patients must use effective contraception during and for 4 months after study participation
• •No history of seizures or encephalitis
• •Able to avoid close household contact with the following individuals for at least 3 weeks after vaccinia vaccination:
• •* Children under 3 years of age
• •* Pregnant or nursing women
• •* Individuals with a history of or active eczema or other eczematoid skin disorders
• •* Individuals with other acute, chronic, or exfoliative skin conditions (e.g., atopic dermatitis, impetigo, burns, varicella zoster, severe acne, or other open rashes or wounds)
• •* Immunodeficient or immunosuppressed individuals, including HIV-positive persons, by disease or therapy
• •No other active malignancy within the past 2 years
• •No other concurrent serious illness
• •PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:
• •Biologic therapy
• •At least 3 years since prior immunotherapy with related vaccinia and fowlpox vaccines
• •At least 3 years since prior antigen-specific peptides
• •No other concurrent immunotherapy
• •Chemotherapy
• •No prior paclitaxel or carboplatin for lung cancer
• •At least 3 years since prior chemotherapy
• •No other concurrent chemotherapy
• •Endocrine therapy
• •No concurrent steroids, except for any of the following:
• •* Topical steroids
• •* Inhaled steroids for mild or moderate asthma
• •* Dexamethasone as premedication for paclitaxel OR for short-term doses (48-72 hours in duration) to control refractory nausea that is not responding to other antiemetics
• •* Systemic corticosteroids for ≥ grade 3 radiation pneumonitis
• •No steroid eye-drops for at least 3 weeks after vaccinia vaccination
• •No concurrent hormonal therapy
• •No concurrent systemic glucocorticoids
• •Radiotherapy
• •No prior radiotherapy to the lung fields
• •No prior thoracic radiotherapy for lung cancer
• •No other concurrent radiotherapy
• •Surgery
• •Surgical scars must be healed
• •No prior splenectomy
• •No concurrent major surgical procedure
• •Other
• •Recovered from all prior therapy
• •No other concurrent anticancer agent or therapy