Erlotinib in Treating Patients With Stage IIIB, Stage IV, or Recurrent Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Inclusion Criteria: Patients must have pathologically confirmed NSCLC Patients must have diagnostic specimen available on paraffin-embedded block Patients must have advanced NSCLC (stage IIIB with a malignant pleural effusion or IV disease, or recurrent disease) Patients must not have received prior chemotherapy or targeted therapy for metastatic disease, including no prior EGFR inhibitor; patient may have received adjuvant chemotherapy for early stage disease (IB-IIIA), or chemo/XRT for stage IIIA or IIIB disease, provided s/he meets all of the following: It has been at least 6 months since completion of patient's adjuvant chemotherapy for early stage disease (IB-IIIA) or chemo/XRT for stage IIIA or IIIB disease Patient now has advanced disease Patients must have measurable disease per RECIST criteria; all sites of disease must be assessed within 4 weeks prior to registration Creatinine < 1.5 mg/dL or a creatinine clearance of > 50 mL/min SGOT(AST) and SGPT(ALT) < 2 x the institution's upper limit of normal Bilirubin < 1.5 mg/dL ANC > 1500/mm^3 PLT > 100,000/mm^3 Patients must have ECOG performance status 0, 1, or 2 Patients with stable, treated brain metastases are eligible (defined as: patients with brain metastases must have been treated and are asymptomatic and are no longer taking corticosteroids) Patients with gastrointestinal tract disease resulting in an inability to take oral medication or a requirement for IV alimentation, prior surgical procedures affecting absorption, or active peptic ulcer disease, are ineligible Pregnant and breast feeding women are excluded from the study because the agent used in this study may be teratogenic to a fetus and there is no information on the excretion of the agents or their metabolites into breast milk Women of childbearing potential and sexually active males must agree to use an accepted and effective method of contraception (hormonal or barrier methods, abstinence) for the duration of the study HIV positive patients receiving combination anti-retroviral therapy are excluded from the study because of possible pharmacokinetic interactions with OSI-774 (Erlotinib) Patients must not have had immuno, hormonal or radiation therapy within 2 weeks prior to entering the study; those who have not recovered from adverse events due to agents administered more than 2 weeks earlier are ineligible; previously irradiated areas can be considered "measurable disease" if there has been documented progression Patients must not have ongoing or active infection, symptomatic congestive heart failure, unstable angina pectoris, symptomatic cardiac arrhythmia, or psychiatric illness that would limit compliance with study requirements Patients must not have serious non-healing wound, or bone fracture, or major surgical procedure within 21 days prior to study entry Patients taking Warfarin are eligible If the patient is taking Cyp3A4 inducers or inhibitors, they must be discontinued one week prior to starting OSI-774 (Erlotinib) Patients must not be enrolled in any other concurrent clinical trials