DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Histologically or cytologically confirmed non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)

  • Unresectable stage IIIA or IIIB (excluding malignant pleural effusion) disease
• At least one site of measurable disease, as defined by the modified RECIST criteria

• Unable to tolerate full-dose cisplatin as defined by 1 of the following criteria:

  • Creatinine clearance < 50 mL/min
  • Sensory hearing loss > grade 2
  • Performance status ≥ 2
  • Age ≥ 75 years
  • Cardiac history, such as myocardial infarction within the past 6 months, angina, or heart disease as defined by the New York Heart Association class III or IV
  • Any other comorbid disease or condition that would increase the risk of toxicity of cisplatin therapy

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

• ECOG performance status 0-2
• Life expectancy ≥ 12 weeks
• Not pregnant or breast feeding
• Negative pregnancy test
• Fertile patients must use effective double-barrier contraception
• Absolute neutrophil count ≥ 1,500/mcL
• Platelet count ≥ 100,000/mcL
• Hemoglobin ≥ 9 g/dL
• Prothrombin time or INR ≤ 1.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN) (unless the patient is receiving therapeutic anticoagulation)
• Partial thromboplastin time (PTT) ≤ 1.2 times the ULN (unless the patient is receiving therapeutic anticoagulation)
• K levels normal
• Mg levels normal
• Creatinine clearance ≥ 20 mL/min
• Serum total bilirubin ≤ 1.5 times ULN
• AST and ALT ≤ 2.5 times ULN
• Alkaline phosphatase ≤ 2.5 times ULN
• No symptomatic neuropathy ≥ grade 2
• No known hypersensitivity to the components of study drug or its analogs or paclitaxel
• No NYHA class III or IV congestive heart failure
• No myocardial infarction within the past 6 months
• QTc ≤ 0.47 seconds
• No uncontrolled arrhythmia

• No "currently active" second malignancy except nonmelanoma skin cancer or carcinoma in situ of the cervix

  • Patients are not considered to have a "currently active" malignancy if they have completed therapy for a prior malignancy, are disease free from prior malignancies for > 5 years or are considered by their physician to be at less than 30% risk of relapse
• No history or current evidence of any condition, therapy, or lab abnormality that might confound the results of the study, interfere with the patient's participation for the full duration of the study or is not in the best interest of the patient to participate

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

• More than 5 years since prior chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or biological therapy for NSCLC
• More than 30 days since prior and no concurrent participation on a study with an investigational compound or device
• No prior treatment with an HDAC inhibitor (e.g., romidespin [depsipeptide], NSC- 630176, MS 275, LAQ-824, belinostat [PXD-101], LBH589, MGCD0103, or CRA024781)
• More than 30 days since prior compounds with HDAC inhibitor-like activity for other indications (e.g., valproic acid for epilepsy)
• No concurrent systemic steroids that have not been stabilized to the equivalent of ≤ 10 mg/day prednisone during the past 30 days
• No concurrent chemotherapy, radiotherapy, biological therapy or investigational anticancer therapy
• No concurrent other HDAC inhibitor (e.g., valproic acid)
• No concurrent prophylactic hematopoietic growth factors