Evaluation of Non-cytotoxic Suramin as a Chemosensitizer in Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

The primary objective is to determine the progression free survival for patients with stage III B with malignant pleural effusion or Stage IV NSCLC treated with docetaxel and carboplatin with or without suramin. The secondary objectives are to compare median overall survival rate, compare overall response rate of patients in both arms, assess toxicity of suramin with docetaxel and carboplatin, determine whether pre-treatment bFGF levels correlate with survival, to determine whether survival benefit from suramin is associated with M phase entry in peripheral blood lymphocytes, and to determine whether adding suramin to docetaxel and carboplatin produces greater survival benefits in African-American patients.